Arraignment Day For Jacko
Two months after a prosecutor made worldwide news by announcing he would charge Michael Jackson with child molestation, the multimillionaire pop star is to be arraigned Friday, with hordes of reporters and fans on hand.
Some legal issues about the trial itself have yet to be settled. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon is seeking a gag order preventing individuals involved in the case from talking to the media - a move the defense opposes, and attacks as a way for prosecutors to cover up their own mistakes.
"The gag order is being requested by Mr. Sneddon, who started the whole publicity war, and he seems to be losing it," criminal defense attorney Harland Braun told CBS News' Early Show. "So I think what he's done is ask the judge to protect him from himself."
If adopted, the gag order would bar virtually everyone connected with the case from talking to the news media. It specifically names Jackson, prosecutors, defense counsel, any attorney working in their offices, their agents, staff, experts, any judicial officer or court employee, any law enforcement employee, any agency involved in the case, and anyone subpoenaed or expected to testify.
The defense argues that issuing such an order would infringe on free speech.
Also up in the air: an attorney representing media organizations is appealing the judge's ban on cameras in the courtroom.
Whether or not cameras are allowed, the world will be watching. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll on how celebrities are treated by the U.S. found a split between whites and blacks on the Jackson trial. Of the whites who were polled, 60 percent thought Jackson would get a fair trial, and 30 percent said they doubt that. Among blacks, 49 percent said they don't think Jackson will be treated fairly, while 38 percent thought he will get a fair shake.
Jackson, who has insisted from the beginning that he is not guilty, abandoned his Neverland Ranch when he was arrested and will be coming to court Friday from the rented Beverly Hills mansion where he's been holed up for weeks.
Several members of Jackson's famous family - including Jermaine Jackson, who has spoken out in his brother's defense - plan to be at his side when he is arraigned.
But they won't be the only ones showing their support.
A candlelight vigil by fans outside Neverland Thursday night was just the beginning.
Jackson fans are being brought to Santa Maria Friday by the busload, from Los Angeles and Las Vegas, for a "Caravan of Love," to show that they still believe in the so-called King of Pop.
With news crews arriving from around the globe - setting up mini TV studios and satellite dishes - the scene is reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson murder trial which became a blueprint for the celebrity trial.
"I don't know that any courtroom in Santa Barbara County is ready for that or any county. I've been practicing law 30 years here now and I've never seen anything like this," former Santa Barbara County prosecutor Steve Balash said on The Early Show.
Call this one O.J. deja vu.
Jackson's defense expanded Thursday with the addition of prominent New York attorney Benjamin Brafman, whose many high profile acquittals include the 2001 bribery and weapons case against Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on bribery and weapons charges in 2001.
Jackson's attorney, Mark Geragos, says Brafman will act as "co-lead counsel" and will be at Friday's arraignment.
Jackson is charged with seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent, reportedly wine. Jackson, who has maintained his innocence, has been free on $3 million bail pending arraignment.
It could be months or a year before there is a trial, reports Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman. In the meantime, the public relations blitz continues. Supporters say he will appear at a multi-faith breakfast in Los Angeles Saturday.
Nearly 10 years after the Simpson trial brought a media horde to the Los Angeles courts, many of the same players trekked 150 miles northwest to an area better known for its vineyards and strawberry fields than its criminal cases.
The feeling of a time warp was intensified by the presence of Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark, standing outside the courthouse doing reports for "Entertainment Tonight." Clark, who never prosecuted another case after losing the nation's most famous murder trial, admitted it was strange to be on the other side of the media attention.
"It's a bizarre world," she said. "It's like everything is turned upside down. I now get to see what the press went through in Simpson. I feel your pain."
A reporter for German television, Gundula Koch, said the Jackson case is bigger than the Simpson trial for European audiences because of the star's worldwide popularity.
"It's the combination of his fame and the subject of child molestation. It's a very big story in Germany," she said.
Residents drove by the courthouse Thursday to gape at the broadcast gear - 18 microwave trucks by midday - and TV reporters doing standups on the sunny front lawn.
An enterprising local businesswoman, Lynelle Lowe, bought one of the prime parking spaces, which are going for $250 a day, and set up her "Cool Treats" business, selling yogurt, coffee, hot dogs and muffins out of a truck.
"It's fun to be part of the hype," she said. "I get to meet a lot of interesting people. Let's face it. This is a small town. There's nothing else going on."