Jackson Defense Suffers Setback
In a major setback for his defense team, the judge in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial ruled Monday that the prosecution may present testimony about past allegations against the pop star involving five boys, including two who reached multimillion-dollar civil settlements with the singer.
"It changes the whole dynamic of the case in favor of prosecutors and makes it much more likely that Jackson will be convicted," said CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen.
Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville ruled after hearing arguments by District Attorney Tom Sneddon and vigorous opposition by defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.
Prosecutors want to have the jury hear from other accusers who claim Jackson molested them in the past, saying it will show a pattern of behavior, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman. The defense argued such testimony would be so prejudicial, it would allow the jury in this case to convict Jackson based on allegations in the past.
Melville said he would allow testimony about alleged sexual offenses and an alleged pattern of "grooming," or preparing the boys for molestation.
The prosecution had sought to introduce testimony about seven boys, but the judge declined to allow evidence about two.
The judge said he would allow testimony by a 1990 accuser who received a $2.4 million settlement from Jackson and testimony by that boy's mother.
A boy who reached a multimillion-dollar settlement from Jackson in 1993 will not testify. Other testimony will be allowed from people who allegedly have knowledge of the case.
The judge said the jury can be told that Jackson reached settlements with the 1990 and 1993 accusers but may not be told the amounts, unless the defense brings them up.
Jurors now may hear about molestation allegations from 1990 and 1993 that ended in civil settlements but no criminal charges. Both settlements barred the accusers from speaking out, but prosecutors could call on them to testify.
Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting the then-13-year-old boy at Neverland in February or March 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to make a video rebutting a documentary in which Jackson appeared with the boy and said he let children sleep in his bed. The singer said it was non-sexual.
In an interview Sunday, Jackson asked his fans to pray for him.
"I gain strength from the fact that I know I am innocent. None of these stories are true," Jackson told the Rev. Jesse Jackson in an hour-long interview Webcast live over the Internet on Sunday.
Declaring himself "completely innocent," the entertainer said he believes he is the victim of a conspiracy, although he declined to elaborate, citing the court-imposed gag order that prevents him from discussing the ongoing trial in detail.
He also said he believes he is just the latest of several "black luminaries" to be unjustly accused, citing former South African President Nelson Mandela and former heavyweight boxing champions Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson as others.
The prosecution in the Jackson trial ended last week by showing jurors its most important and controversial piece of evidence — a sexually explicit magazine containing three fingerprints from Jackson's accuser and one from the pop singer himself.
"There was a frustration in '93 that we weren't allowed to go to trial," said former Santa Barbara Sheriff Jim Thomas, who investigated the cases. "At least it has the chance to go through the process now."
"If prosecutors can show jurors even a little bit of evidence suggesting that this sort of episode may have occurred before with Jackson, it would be a huge boost to their case and huge defeat for the defendant," said Cohen
On Sunday, Jackson said he was currently in "the lowest point emotionally" of his life, but denied he was on the verge of bankruptcy.
"It's one of their many schemes to embarrass me," Jackson said in the interview.
The singer does still have millions of dollars' worth of assets, but CBS News has confirmed he's had cash-flow problems lately in his efforts to keep his Neverland ranch operating, reports Correspondent Vince Gonzalez.
He also said he remains in "intense pain" after falling in the shower earlier this month and bruising his lung, although he added that his "health is perfect."