1 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
2 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA
3 SANTA MARIA BRANCH; COOK STREET DIVISION
4 DEPARTMENT SM-2 HON. RODNEY S. MELVILLE, JUDGE
5
6
7 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF )
8 CALIFORNIA, )
9 Plaintiff, )
10 -vs- ) Number 1133603
11 MICHAEL JOE JACKSON, )
12 Defendant. )
13
14
15
16 REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
17
18 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2005
19
20 8:30 A.M.
21
22
23
24
25
26
27 REPORTED MICHELE MATTSON McNEIL, RPR, CRR, CSR #3304
28 BY: Official Court Reporter 1
1 APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL:
2
3
For Plaintiff: THOMAS W. SNEDDON, JR.,
4 District Attorney -and-
5 RONALD J. ZONEN, Sr. Deputy District Attorney
6 -and- GORDON AUCHINCLOSS,
7 Sr. Deputy District Attorney -and-
8 GERALD McC. FRANKLIN, Sr. Deputy District Attorney
9 1112 Santa Barbara Street Santa Barbara, California 93101
10
11
12
13 For Defendant: COLLINS, MESEREAU, REDDOCK & YU BY: THOMAS A. MESEREAU, JR., ESQ.
14 -and- SUSAN C. YU, ESQ.
15 1875 Century Park East, Suite 700 Los Angeles, California 90067
16 -and-
17 SANGER & SWYSEN
18 BY: ROBERT M. SANGER, ESQ. 233 East Carrillo Street, Suite C
19 Santa Barbara, California 93101
20 -and-
21 OXMAN and JAROSCAK BY: R. BRIAN OXMAN, ESQ.
22 14126 East Rosecrans Boulevard Santa Fe Springs, California 90670
23
24
25
26
27
28 2
1 Santa Maria, California
2 Monday, February 28, 2005
3 8:30 a.m.
4
5 THE COURT: Good morning.
6 THE JURY: (In unison) Good morning.
7 COUNSEL AT COUNSEL TABLE: (In unison)
8 Good morning, Your Honor. Good morning.
9 THE COURT: There's two things we're going to
10 do before we commence with the opening statement.
11 One of them is that I'm going to read the
12 Indictment.
13 Remember, during jury selection, I generally
14 told you what the Indictment contained, and it does
15 contain that. But I want to read it specifically to
16 you because it's a little more detailed than the
17 general description.
18 The second thing I'm going to do is to give
19 you some pre-trial jury instruction. And they're
20 very brief, but they're meant to help you as you
21 start to hear the evidence, and as you hear the
22 opening statements of counsel.
23 What I'm going to do is, again, come down to
24 where you are to talk to you. I just -- this
25 distance between us is disturbing to me.
26 This is the Indictment:
27 The People of the State of California versus
28 Michael Joe Jackson, Defendant. 3
1 Count 1: The Grand Jury of the County of
2 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
3 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
4 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
5 182, subdivision (a), sub (1), conspiracy, in that
6 on or about and between February 1, 2003, and March
7 31, 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara, State of
8 California, he did conspire with Ronald Konitzer,
9 Dieter Weizner, and Frank Cascio, aka Frank Tyson,
10 Vinnie Amen, Frederic Marc Schaffel, and other
11 uncharged co-conspirators and co-conspirators whose
12 identities are unknown, to commit the crime of a
13 violation of Penal Code Section 278, child
14 abduction, a felony; a violation of Penal Code
15 Section 236, false imprisonment, a felony; a
16 violation of Penal Code Section 518, extortion, a
17 felony; and that pursuant to and for the purpose of
18 carrying out the objectives and purposes of the
19 aforesaid conspiracy, to wit: unlawfully
20 controlling, withholding, isolating, concealing,
21 enticing and threatening John Doe, James Doe, Judy
22 Doe, all minor children, and Jane Doe, an adult, did
23 commit one or more of the following overt acts in
24 the State of California, at least one of them in the
25 County of Santa Barbara:
26 Over Act Number 1: On or about February
27 4th, 2003, Michael Joe Jackson told Jane Doe that
28 the lives of her children, John, James and Judy Doe, 4
1 were in danger due to the recent broadcast on
2 British television of the documentary "Living with
3 Michael Jackson," in which John Doe appears with
4 Michael Joe Jackson. And Michael -- excuse me,
5 appears with Michael Joe Jackson, period. Michael
6 Joe Jackson did tell Jane Doe that she and her three
7 children would be flown to Miami to participate in a
8 press conference, which press conference never took
9 place.
10 Overt Act Number 2: On and between February
11 4th, 2003, and February 5th, 2003, the documentary
12 "Living with Michael Jackson," in which John Doe
13 appears, was broadcast in the United States.
14 Michael Joe Jackson did personally prevent the Doe
15 family from viewing the program, while at the
16 Turnberry Resort Hotel in Miami, Florida.
17 Overt Act Number 3: On and between
18 February 7th, 2003, and February 8th, 2003, Michael
19 Joe Jackson did return the Doe family to Santa
20 Barbara in a private jet. On the flight, Michael
21 Joe Jackson did sit with John Doe and did give him
22 an alcoholic beverage, concealed in a soft drink
23 can. Michael Joe Jackson did then present John Doe
24 with a wristwatch. Michael Joe Jackson did tell
25 John Doe that the watch was worth $75,000. Michael
26 Joe Jackson did tell John Doe not to tell anyone
27 about them drinking alcoholic beverages together.
28 Overt Act Number 4: On or about February 5
1 8th, 2003, Michael Joe Jackson brought the Doe
2 family to Jackson's Neverland Ranch, where John,
3 James, Judy and Jane Doe remained for approximately
4 five days.
5 Overt Act Number 5: On and between February
6 6th, 2003, and February 12th, 2003, in both Miami,
7 Florida, and at Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara
8 County, Ronald Konitzer and Dieter Weizner did tell
9 Jane Doe that there were death threats made against
10 her and her children by unknown individuals. They
11 did further tell Jane Doe that the only way to
12 assure the safety of her family was for the Does to
13 participate in the making of a "rebuttal" video
14 favorable to Michael Joe Jackson.
15 Overt Act Number 6: On and between February
16 12th, 2003, and February 15th, 2003, after the Doe
17 family had departed Neverland Ranch in the night,
18 Frank Cascio, aka Frank Tyson, did telephone Jane
19 Doe and did urge her to return with her children to
20 Neverland Ranch and did say, quote, "I know Michael
21 would love for you to come back to the ranch, for
22 the safety of all concerned," unquote; and, quote,
23 "Now is not the time to be out there alone,"
24 unquote; and, quote, "Never turn your back on
25 Michael," unquote; and, "Michael wants to see you
26 and the family," that's in quotes; and, quote, "You
27 need to go back up to the ranch and see Michael,
28 because he's very concerned," unquote; and, quote, 6
1 "Even staying another night alone is not safe,"
2 unquote.
3 Frank Cascio, aka Frank Tyson, did tell Jane
4 Doe that, "We would love for you to go on tape and
5 just say something beautiful about Michael." Frank
6 Cascio did assure Jane Doe and John Doe that Ronald
7 Konitzer and Dieter Weizner would no longer be
8 present at the ranch if they returned. He did
9 state, "They are not there; I know that for a fact."
10 Overt Act Number 7: On and between February
11 2003 and March 2003, at Neverland Ranch, Frank
12 Cascio, aka Frank Tyson, did threaten James Doe that
13 Cascio did have ways to make James Doe's parents
14 disappear. Frank Cascio did tell John Doe, "I could
15 have your mother killed."
16 Overt Act Number 8: On or about February
17 14th, 2003, and February 15th, 2003, Michael Joe
18 Jackson's personal chauffeur, Gary Hearne, did drive
19 to Jane Doe's Los Angeles residence and did
20 transport her and her children back to the Neverland
21 Ranch in Santa Barbara County.
22 Overt Act Number 9: On and between February
23 14th, 2003, and February 15th, 2003, upon the Doe
24 Family's return to Neverland Ranch, Ronald Konitzer
25 and Dieter Weizner were, in fact, present; whereupon
26 Jane Doe asked to leave with her children. Ronald
27 Konitzer and Dieter Weizner did tell Jane Doe that
28 she was free to depart, however her children must 7
1 remain at the ranch.
2 Overt Act Number 10: During the month of
3 February 2003, in Santa Barbara County, California,
4 Michael Joe Jackson's personal security staff was
5 directed in writing not to allow John Doe to leave
6 Neverland Ranch.
7 Over Act Number 11: During the month of
8 February 2003, Frederic Marc Schaffel, Christian
9 Robinson and an unknown attorney did prepare a
10 script of questions to be asked of the Doe family
11 during the filming of the "rebuttal" video by Hamid
12 Moslehi, Michael Joe Jackson's personal
13 videographer.
14 Overt Act Number 12: On or about February
15 19th, 2003, the Doe children were transported by
16 Hamid Moslehi from Neverland Ranch to Moslehi's home
17 in the San Fernando Valley, and on the same date,
18 Vinnie Amen did transport Jane Doe to Hamid
19 Moslehi's filming of the "rebuttal" video.
20 Overt Act Number 13: On or about February
21 19th, 2003, in Los Angeles County between 11:00 p.m.
22 and 1:00 a.m., the employees and associates of
23 Michael Joe Jackson did tape the "rebuttal" video,
24 an interview of the Doe family, in the presence of
25 Vinnie Amen and Bradley Miller, a licensed private
26 investigator. During the taping, previously
27 scripted questions were asked of the Doe family.
28 Overt Act Number 14: On or about February 8
1 20th, 2003, Vinnie Amen did transport Jane Doe to
2 Norwalk, in Los Angeles County, to obtain birth
3 certificates of the Doe family for the purpose of
4 obtaining passports and visas to travel to Brazil.
5 Overt Act Number 15: On and between
6 February 25th, 2003, and March 2nd, 2003, Vinnie
7 Amen did take the Doe family from Neverland Ranch to
8 the Country Inn and Suites in Calabasas, Los Angeles
9 County. Vinnie Amen did transport Jane Doe to
10 public offices in Los Angeles County where passports
11 showing the destinations of Italy and France and
12 visas for entrance to Brazil for the Doe family were
13 obtained. Frederic Marc Schaffel, business partner
14 of Michael Joe Jackson and president of Neverland
15 Valley Entertainment, did pay expenses in connection
16 with this activity.
17 Overt Act Number 16: On or about February
18 25th, 2003, Frederic Marc Schaffel did make airline
19 reservations for the Doe family to travel to Brazil
20 on March 3rd, 2003.
21 Overt Act Number 17: On or about February
22 26th, 2003, Frederic Marc Schaffel and Frank Cascio,
23 aka Frank Tyson -- excuse me.
24 On or about February 26th, 2003, Frederic
25 Marc Schaffel paid Frank Cascio, aka Frank Tyson,
26 $1,000 in connection with "vacation" expenses of the
27 Doe family.
28 Overt Act Number 18: On or about February 9
1 23rd (sic), 2003, Frederic Marc Schaffel did pay
2 Vinnie Amen the sum of $500 cash for costs related
3 to the Brazilian visas of the Doe family.
4 Overt Act Number 19: On and between
5 February 2003 and March 2003, at the Neverland
6 Ranch, Michael Joe Jackson did have John Doe sleep
7 in his bedroom and in his bed.
8 Overt Act Number 20: On and between
9 February 2003 and March 2003, at Neverland Ranch,
10 Michael Joe Jackson did house Jane and Judy Doe in a
11 guest cottage on Neverland Ranch where Jane and Judy
12 Doe slept.
13 Overt Act Number 21: On and between
14 February 2003 and March 2003, at Neverland Ranch,
15 Michael Joe Jackson did show sexually explicit
16 materials to John and James Doe.
17 Overt Act Number 22: On and between
18 February 2003 and March 2003, at Neverland Ranch,
19 Michael Joe Jackson did drink alcoholic beverages in
20 the presence of John and James Doe and provided
21 alcoholic beverages to them.
22 Overt Act Number 23: On and between
23 February 2003 and March 2003, Michael Joe Jackson
24 did monitor and maintain control over the activities
25 at Neverland Ranch by means of multiple interior
26 door locks, proximity sensor alarm devices, and a
27 keypad combination lock, as well as video and
28 telephone surveillance equipment. Michael Joe 10
1 Jackson did personally monitor telephone
2 conversations of Jane Doe, without her knowledge or
3 permission.
4 Overt Act Number 24: On or about March 1st,
5 2003, Vinnie Amen did pay the rent on the residence
6 of the Doe family in Los Angeles County and moved
7 their belongings into storage.
8 Overt Act Number 25: On or about March 6th,
9 2003, Vinnie Amen did go to John Burroughs Middle
10 School in Los Angeles County and he did withdraw
11 John and James Doe from their enrollment there,
12 telling school authorities that the children were
13 relocating to Phoenix, Arizona.
14 Overt Act Number 26: On or about March 9th,
15 2003, Michael Joe Jackson was told by John Doe that
16 John Doe had a medical appointment the following
17 day, at which time he was to give his medical staff
18 a 24-hour-long urine collection specimen for
19 laboratory analysis.
20 Michael Joe Jackson, in Santa Barbara
21 County, did tell John Doe to cancel the appointment,
22 because the sample would reveal that John Doe had
23 been consuming alcoholic beverages while staying at
24 the Neverland Ranch.
25 On or about March 10th, 2003, in Los Angeles
26 County, after Jane Doe refused to cancel the medical
27 appointment and while on the way to the medical
28 appointment, Vinnie Amen did destroy most of John 11
1 Doe's collected urine specimen, intended for
2 laboratory analysis in connection with John Doe's
3 follow-up treatment for the disease of cancer.
4 Overt Act Number 27: On and between
5 February 2003 and March 2003, in Los Angeles County,
6 and as revealed by a surveillance tape located on
7 November 18th, 2003, in the office of Private
8 Investigator Bradley Miller, an unknown
9 co-conspirator conducted video surveillance of John
10 Doe and various members of John Doe's family,
11 including his grandmother and grandfather, his
12 mother, his mother's boyfriend, his brother and his
13 sister, at and near their respective residences and
14 elsewhere.
15 Overt Act Number 28: On or about March 31,
16 2003, Michael Joe Jackson did direct Frederic Marc
17 Schaffel to pay Frank Cascio, aka Frank Tyson, the
18 sum of one million dollars, from "Petty Cash" of
19 Neverland Valley Entertainment on behalf of Michael
20 Joe Jackson.
21 Those are the end of the overt acts. We're
22 now going to Count 2.
23 Count 2: The Grand Jury of the County of
24 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
25 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
26 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
27 288, subdivision (a), lewd act upon a child, in that
28 on or about and between February 20th, 2003, and 12
1 March 12th, 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara,
2 State of California, he did willfully, unlawfully,
3 and lewdly commit a lewd and lascivious act upon and
4 with the body and certain parts and members thereof
5 of John Doe, a child under the age of 14 -- under
6 the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing,
7 appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and
8 sexual desires of said defendant and the said child.
9 The further allegation that in the
10 circumstances of the crime alleged in this count the
11 crime constituted substantial sexual conduct with a
12 child under the age of 14 years, within the meaning
13 of Penal Code Section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(
.
14 Count 3: The Grand Jury of the County of
15 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
16 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
17 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
18 288, subdivision (a), lewd act upon a child, in that
19 on or about and between February 20th, 2003, and
20 March 12th, 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara,
21 State of California, he did willfully, unlawfully
22 and lewdly commit a lewd and lascivious act upon and
23 with the body and certain parts and members thereof
24 of John Doe, a child under the age of 14 years, with
25 the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying
26 the lust, passions and sexual desires of said
27 defendant and said child.
28 The further allegation that in the 13
1 circumstances of the crime alleged in this count the
2 crime constituted substantial sexual conduct with a
3 child under the age of 14 years, within the meaning
4 of Penal Code Section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(
.
5 Count 4: The Grand Jury of the County of
6 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
7 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
8 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
9 288, subdivision (a), lewd act upon a child, in that
10 on or about and between February 20th, 2003, and
11 March 12th, 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara,
12 State of California, he did willfully, unlawfully
13 and lewdly commit a lewd and lascivious act upon and
14 with the body and certain parts and members thereof
15 of John Doe, a child under the age of 14 years, with
16 the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying
17 the lusts, passions, and sexual desires of said
18 defendant and the said child.
19 The further allegation that in the
20 circumstances of this count, the crime constituted
21 substantial sexual conduct with a child under the
22 age of 14 years, within the meaning of Penal Code
23 Section 1203.066 (a)(
.
24 Count 5: The Grand Jury of the County of
25 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
26 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
27 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
28 288, subdivision (a), lewd act upon a child, in that 14
1 on or about and between February 20th, 2003, and
2 March 12th, 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara,
3 State of California, he did willfully and unlawfully
4 and lewdly commit a lewd and lascivious act upon and
5 with the body and certain parts and members thereof
6 of John Doe, a child under the age of 14 years, with
7 the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying
8 the lusts, passions, and sexual desires of said
9 defendant and said child.
10 The further allegation that in the
11 circumstances of the crime alleged in this count the
12 crime constituted substantial sexual conduct with a
13 child under the age of 14 years, within the meaning
14 of Penal Code Section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(
.
15 Count 6: The Grand Jury of the County of
16 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
17 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
18 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Sections
19 664 and 288, subdivision (a), attempt to commit a
20 lewd act upon a child, in that on or about and
21 between February 20th, 2003, and March 12th, 2003,
22 in the County of Santa Barbara, State of California,
23 he did willfully, unlawfully and lewdly attempt to
24 have John Doe, a child under 14 years of age, commit
25 a lewd and lascivious act upon and with Defendant
26 Michael Joe Jackson's body and certain parts and
27 members thereof, with the intent of arousing,
28 appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and 15
1 sexual desires of the said defendant and the said
2 child.
3 Count 7: The Grand Jury of the County of
4 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
5 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
6 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
7 222, administering an intoxicating agent to assist
8 in the commission of a felony, in that on or about
9 and between February 20th, 2003, and March 12th,
10 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara, State of
11 California, he did unlawfully administer to John Doe
12 an intoxicating agent, to wit: alcohol, with the
13 intent thereby to enable and assist him to commit a
14 felony, to wit: child molestation, in violation of
15 Penal Code Section 288, subdivision (a).
16 Count 8: The Grand Jury of the County of
17 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
18 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
19 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
20 222, administering an intoxicating agent to assist
21 in the commission of a felony, in that on or about
22 and between February 20th, 2003, and March 12th,
23 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara, State of
24 California, he did unlawfully administer to John Doe
25 an intoxicating agent, to wit: alcohol, and with the
26 intent thereby to enable and assist himself to
27 commit a felony, to wit: child molestation, in
28 violation of Penal Code Section 288, subdivision 16
1 (a).
2 Count 9: The Grand Jury of the County of
3 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
4 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
5 felony, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
6 222, administering an intoxicating agent to assist
7 in the commission of a felony, in that on or about
8 and between February 20th, 2003, and March 12th,
9 2003, in the County of Santa Barbara, State of
10 California, he did unlawfully administer to John Doe
11 an intoxicating agent, to wit: alcohol, with the
12 intent thereby to enable and assist him to commit a
13 felony, to wit: child molestation, in violation of
14 Penal Code Section 288, subdivision (a).
15 Count 10: The Grand Jury of the County of
16 Santa Barbara, State of California, by this
17 Indictment, hereby accuses Michael Joe Jackson of a
18 crime, to wit: a violation of Penal Code Section
19 222, administering an intoxicating agent to assist
20 in the commission of a felony, in that on or about
21 between February 20th, 2003, and March 12th, 2003,
22 in the County of Santa Barbara, State of California,
23 he did unlawfully administer to John Doe an
24 intoxicating agent, to wit: alcohol, with the intent
25 thereby to enable and assist him to commit a felony,
26 to wit: child molestation, in violation of Penal
27 Code Section 288, subdivision (a).
28 It is further alleged that Counts 2 through 17
1 5 are serious felonies within the meaning of Penal
2 Code Section 1192.7, subdivision (c)(6).
3 As to Counts 2 through 5, it is further
4 alleged, pursuant to Penal Code Section 1203.066,
5 subdivision (a)(
, that the victim in the above
6 offense, John Doe, was under the age of 14 years and
7 Michael Joe Jackson had substantial sexual conduct
8 with John Doe.
9 Pursuant to the provisions of Penal Code
10 Section 293.5 the use of "John Doe" as it appears in
11 the Indictment is for the purpose of protecting the
12 privacy of the alleged victim.
13 This Indictment is signed by Ronald Zonen on
14 behalf of Tom Sneddon, signed by Gordon Auchincloss
15 on behalf of Thomas Sneddon, and is declared to be a
16 true bill by the foreperson of the grand jury, who
17 signed it on April 21st, 2004.
18 Up until this time the Indictment in this
19 case has been sealed. It is hereby unsealed.
20 I'm now going to read to you a short two- or
21 three-page statement of some jury instructions that
22 I hope will help you as you begin to listen to the
23 case. But I need some water.
24 And I want to remind you, after reading that
25 entire Indictment, that Mr. Jackson has pled not
26 guilty to all those charges. He's put every
27 allegation in those charges at issue by pleading not
28 guilty. And the Indictment is not evidence of his 18
1 guilt.
2 Members and alternate members of the jury:
3 You have been selected and sworn as jurors and
4 alternate jurors. I shall now instruct you as to
5 your basic functions, duties and conduct.
6 At the conclusion of the case, I will give
7 you further instructions on the law. All of the
8 Court's instructions, whether given before, during
9 or after the taking of testimony, are of equal
10 importance.
11 You must base the decisions you make on the
12 facts and the law. First, you must determine the
13 facts from the evidence received in the trial and
14 not from any other source.
15 A fact is something proved by the evidence
16 or by a stipulation. A stipulation is an agreement
17 between attorneys regarding the facts.
18 Second, you must apply the law that I state
19 to you to the facts as you determine them, and in
20 this way arrive at your verdict and any finding you
21 are instructed to include in your verdict.
22 You must accept and follow the law as I
23 state it to you, regardless of whether you agree
24 with it or not. If anything concerning the law said
25 by the attorneys in their arguments or at any other
26 time during the trial conflicts with my instructions
27 on the law, you must follow my instructions.
28 You must not be influenced by pity for the 19
1 defendant, or by prejudice against him. You must
2 not be biased against the defendant because he has
3 been arrested for this offense, charged with a
4 crime, or brought to trial. None of these
5 circumstances is evidence of guilt. And you must
6 not infer or assume any or all of them -- assume
7 from any or all of them that he is more likely to be
8 guilty than not guilty.
9 You must not be influenced by mere
10 sentiment, conjecture, sympathy, passion, prejudice,
11 public opinion, or public feeling. Both the People
12 and the defendant have a right to expect that you
13 will conscientiously consider and weigh the
14 evidence, apply the law, and reach a just verdict,
15 regardless of the consequences.
16 Statements made by the attorneys during the
17 trial are not evidence. However, if the attorneys
18 stipulate or agree to a fact, you must regard that
19 fact as proven.
20 If an objection is sustained to a question,
21 do not guess what the answer might have been. Do
22 not speculate as to the reason for the objection.
23 Do not assume to be true any insinuation
24 suggested by a question asked a witness. A question
25 is not evidence and may be considered only as it
26 helps you to understand the answer. Do not consider
27 for any purpose any offer of evidence that is
28 rejected or any evidence that is stricken by the 20
1 Court. Treat it as though you had never heard it.
2 You must not independently investigate the
3 facts or the law or consider or discuss facts as to
4 which there is no evidence. This means, for
5 example, that you must not, on your own, visit the
6 scene, conduct experiments, or consult reference
7 works or persons for additional information.
8 You must not converse among yourselves or
9 with anyone else, including, but not limited to,
10 spouses, spiritual leaders or advisors or therapists
11 on any subject connected with the trial, except when
12 all of the following conditions exist: A, the case
13 has been submitted to you for your decision by the
14 Court following arguments by counsel and jury
15 instructions; B, you are discussing the case with a
16 fellow juror; and, C, all 12 jurors and no other
17 persons are present in the jury deliberating room.
18 You must not read or listen to any accounts
19 or discussions of the case reported by the
20 newspapers or other news media, including radio,
21 television, the Internet, or any other source.
22 You will be given notebooks and pencils.
23 Leave them on your seat when you leave each day and
24 at each recess. You will be able to take them into
25 the jury room when you deliberate.
26 A word of caution: You may take notes.
27 However, you should not permit note-taking to
28 distract you from the ongoing proceedings. 21
1 Remember, you are the judges of the believability
2 of the witnesses.
3 Notes are only an aid to memory and should
4 not take precedence over recollection. A juror who
5 does not take notes should rely on his or her
6 recollection of the evidence and not be influenced
7 by the fact that other jurors do take notes. Notes
8 are for the note-taker's own personal use in
9 refreshing his or her recollection of the evidence.
10 Should a discrepancy exist between a juror's
11 recollection of the evidence and a juror's notes, or
12 between a juror's recollection and that of another,
13 you have a right to, and may request, the court
14 reporter read back the relevant testimony, which
15 must prevail.
16 You will be permitted to separate at the
17 evening recess. You must return following -- on the
18 following days at such times as I instruct you.
19 During recess, you must not discuss with anyone, any
20 subject connected with this trial.
21 As for the alternate jurors, you are bound
22 by all these admonitions. You must not converse
23 among yourselves or with anyone else on any subject
24 connected with the trial or form or express any
25 opinion on it until the case is submitted to you,
26 which means until such time as you are substituted
27 in for one of the 12 jurors and begin deliberating
28 on the case. 22
1 This means that you must not decide how you
2 would vote if you were deliberating with the other
3 jurors, and that you must not form or express an
4 opinion about the case unless and until you have
5 been substituted in as a juror in the case.
6 You are not to visit or view the premises or
7 place where the crime or crimes charged were
8 allegedly committed or any other premises or place
9 mentioned or involved in the case.
10 During the course of this trial, and before
11 you begin your deliberations, you must keep an open
12 mind on this case, and upon all of the issues that
13 you will be asked to decide. In other words, you
14 must not form or express any opinions on this case
15 until the matter is finally submitted to you.
16 Before and within 90 days of your discharge
17 as a juror in this matter, you must not request,
18 accept, agree to accept, or discuss with any person
19 receiving or accepting any payment or benefit in
20 consideration for supplying any information
21 concerning the trial.
22 You must promptly report to the Court any
23 incident within your knowledge involving an attempt
24 by any person either to improperly influence any
25 member of this jury or to tell a juror his or her
26 view of the evidence of the case.
27 At this time, the lawyers will be permitted
28 to make an opening statement, if they choose to do 23
1 so. An opening statement is not evidence. Because
2 it is not evidence, do not take any notes during the
3 opening statement.
4 Neither is it argument. Counsel are not
5 permitted to argue the case at this point in the
6 proceedings.
7 An opening statement is simply an outline by
8 counsel of what he or she believes or expects the
9 evidence will show in this trial. Its sole purpose
10 is to assist you in understanding the case as it is
11 presented to you.
12 Mr. Sneddon.
13 MR. SNEDDON: Yes, Your Honor.
14 THE COURT: I understand there is a change in
15 the way we're going to refer to the alleged victims
16 in this case.
17 MR. SNEDDON: That's correct, Your Honor.
18 And the change is that we are going to use the real
19 names.
20 THE COURT: All right. Counsel agree.
21 MR. MESEREAU: Defense would agree to that,
22 Your Honor.
23 THE COURT: And I understand the reason for
24 this change in this case is that there is so much
25 documentary, written evidence that has their names
26 in it would be pretty much impossible to proceed
27 without reaching this agreement.
28 MR. SNEDDON: That's correct, Your Honor. I 24
1 discussed it with the family and explained to them
2 the technical problems of trying to go through all
3 the redaction process with every tape and video and
4 everything else, and they understood. And they said
5 that they were comfortable with it, the decision to
6 change it back.
7 THE COURT: All right. I'll accept that
8 agreement and request. And I will allow the names
9 of the victims to be used in this case.
10 In doing so, I want to express to the
11 members of the press who did not reveal the names of
12 the victims in accordance with our law, how deeply
13 appreciated that was by the Court.
14 And I want you to know that in other cases,
15 it would remain very important to continue your
16 policies that you expressed not revealing the
17 victim's names in these type of cases.
18 Are you ready to proceed.
19 MR. SNEDDON: Judge, there's one final thing
20 that we discussed a long time ago, but I wanted to
21 double-check with the Court. There is a motion to
22 exclude witnesses; is that correct.
23 THE COURT: I don't remember. Yes, there
24 was, during one of the hearings, a motion -- is
25 there a motion to exclude witnesses during the
26 trial.
27 MR. SNEDDON: Yes, sir. I believe that was
28 the request of both parties. 25
1 MR. MESEREAU: We would make a similar
2 motion, Your Honor.
3 THE COURT: All right. The motion to
4 exclude witnesses made by both parties is granted.
5 MR. SNEDDON: Yes, sir.
6 THE COURT: Does that require witnesses not
7 to be present during your opening remarks or just
8 during the testimony.
9 MR. SNEDDON: Well, I understand -- I'm
10 sorry, Your Honor. My understanding would sort of
11 defeat the proposition if they were allowed to
12 remain in the courtroom during the opening
13 statement, by either party.
14 THE COURT: All right. Then --
15 MR. SNEDDON: Other than the investigating
16 officer, of course, who's been designated.
17 THE COURT: All right. Any witnesses that
18 have been subpoenaed to testify in this case or who
19 expect to testify, if you're in the courtroom at
20 this time, you're required to leave the courtroom.
21 Seeing nobody leaving, you may proceed.
22 I am going to take breaks at the standard
23 time, so -- just so you know.
24 MR. SNEDDON: Good morning.
25 THE JURY: (In unison) Good morning.
26 MR. SNEDDON: On February the 3rd of 2003,
27 Michael Jackson, the defendant in this case, world
28 was rocked. And it didn't rock in a musical sense. 26
1 It rocked in a real life sense. And it was rocked
2 by the fallout from the broadcast in the United
3 Kingdom of the Martin Bashir video documentary,
4 "Living with Michael Jackson."
5 And his life was rocked so badly that one of
6 his long-time closest and most trusted associates,
7 and co-conspirator in this case, Marc Schaffel
8 described it as "a train wreck."
9 Now, I'm sure that some of you ladies and
10 gentlemen are going to be a little surprised to
11 learn, as the testimony and the evidence unfolds in
12 this case, that actually for years prior to the
13 Bashir video that the defendant in this case was
14 heavily in debt. That his musical assets --
15 MR. MESEREAU: Objection.
16 MR. SNEDDON: -- and his real estate
17 property --
18 MR. MESEREAU: Objection.
19 THE COURT: Sustained.
20 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, that's the motive
21 for the --
22 MR. MESEREAU: Objection, again, Your Honor.
23 THE COURT: The --
24 MR. MESEREAU: He's violating your order.
25 THE COURT: The final determination as to the
26 financial evidence coming in has not been reached.
27 MR. SNEDDON: Very well, Your Honor.
28 Unfortunately, for Mr. Jackson, the effect 27
1 of the Bashir documentary had just the opposite
2 effect.
3 This case, in Count 1, is a case about
4 conspiracy. It's about the train wreck situation
5 caused by the Bashir documentary. It's about the
6 world's reaction and how it created the motive for
7 the once superstar's desperate attempt to salvage
8 his once very powerful musical career.
9 This is also a case about Michael Jackson's
10 exploitation of a 13-year-old boy and cancer
11 survivor, Gavin Arvizo.
12 It's about how Jackson, after almost a year
13 of having no contact with this young boy, reached
14 out to the young boy and invited him to Neverland
15 Ranch to participate in the Bashir documentary.
16 It's about how he never told this boy that
17 the interview was anything other than an audition.
18 That the boy nor any member of their family realized
19 that the interview that occurred on the ranch that
20 day was going to be broadcast internationally around
21 the world and seen by millions and millions of
22 people.
23 This case is about the defendant. It's
24 about his manipulation of the young boy's
25 adolescence through exposing him to strange sexual
26 behavior and introducing him to sexually graphic
27 adult magazines.
28 It's about how he traded on the boy's 28
1 obvious and often expressed admiration for the
2 defendant. And it's about how he exploited the
3 knowledge of the fact that the child had no father
4 in his life, and had had no father in his life for
5 over a year, because of the separation and divorce
6 of the parents, and the fact that there was a court
7 restraining order prohibiting the father from seeing
8 the children.
9 He exploited this paternal relationship and
10 created another relationship with the child as a
11 surrogate father, encouraging both the child, Gavin
12 Arvizo, the mother, and other members of the family
13 to refer to him as "Daddy" or "Michael Daddy."
14 You will soon see, as one of the first
15 witnesses in this case, the Martin Bashir
16 documentary. You will see Bashir's probing and
17 incredulous questioning of the defendant.
18 And you will see the defendant's almost
19 casual responses to his questions in trying to
20 justify his admitted practice and long-standing
21 custom and habit of sharing his bedroom, and his
22 bed, with young boys.
23 You will soon hear the testimony from such
24 witnesses as Ann Gabriel, Rudy Provencio, Ian Drew,
25 and others close to the defendant in this case, that
26 the Bashir documentary was deemed a disaster. And
27 that the Arvizo family was a dangerous loose end.
28 One that needed to be isolated, one that needed to 29
1 be controlled, and one that needed to be convinced
2 to participate in a pro Michael Jackson video that
3 was planned to be aired later in mid-February.
4 As the trial unfolds, you will also learn
5 that maintaining that isolation and maintaining that
6 control became very problematic. And gaining the
7 cooperation of the mother, Janet Arvizo, was very,
8 very difficult. And you will learn the reasons why.
9 The evidence through the Arvizo family, and
10 corroborated by tape-recordings and other witnesses,
11 will show that when logic and reason appeals to
12 trust, deceit, and lies and threats, failed.
13 That the defendant in this case and his
14 co-conspirators were able to obtain the valuable
15 interview that they needed from the Arvizo family
16 through extortion. And it was done very simply.
17 As events turned out -- and I will explain
18 to you in later detail during other parts of my
19 opening statement here this morning -- that as a
20 result of the things that occurred in this case,
21 authorities from the school contacted the Department
22 of Social Services in Los Angeles, and they
23 contacted Mrs. Arvizo, and they wanted Mrs. Arvizo
24 to produce the children for an interview on February
25 the 20th in Los Angeles.
26 But Mrs. Arvizo had a problem. Because
27 Mrs. Arvizo at that point in time was not on the
28 ranch, and the children were. And she had refused 30
1 to participate in the video that they desired on a
2 number of occasions prior to this.
3 She placed a phone call to one of the
4 co-conspirators in this case, Frank Tyson, who also
5 goes by the name of Frank Cascio. And it was put to
6 her quite simply: No children; no video. No
7 children; no video.
8 She had no choice but to agree for herself
9 and the children to participate in the video.
10 What followed was kind of a bizarre event in
11 the sense that the children were taken from
12 Neverland Ranch by Michael Jackson's personal
13 videographer --
14 THE BAILIFF: Hit the switch.
15 MR. SNEDDON: Well, I know I've had some
16 effects on people before, but I don't think I've
17 ever had that one.
18 (Laughter.)
19 BAILIFF CORTEZ: Okay. Back on.
20 THE BAILIFF: Wait just one second.
21 MR. SNEDDON: I don't need it.
22 THE BAILIFF: You don't need it.
23 MR. SNEDDON: I told you, I don't need it.
24 I guess that gives new meaning to an
25 electric personality.
26 I think we were at that point in time now
27 where we're talking about the fact that the children
28 are at the ranch. And the defendant's personal 31
1 viedographer, Hamid Moslehi, is commissioned to
2 bring the children from the ranch to his Calabasas
3 residence where the filming is going to take place.
4 Another member of the co-conspirator's team
5 named Vinnie Amen, who also goes by the name of
6 Vinnie Black, picks up Janet Arvizo at a West Los
7 Angeles apartment where she's staying with her
8 future husband and fiance, Major Jay Jackson.
9 They meet at Moslehi's residence in
10 Calabasas. And it's now approaching about 11:30 or
11 almost midnight when everybody arrives. What
12 results is a video that occurs -- and I'm going to
13 speak more about later in my presentation -- but
14 occurs and doesn't end until two o'clock in the
15 morning. And the children are then taken back to
16 West Los Angeles for a nine o'clock appointment with
17 the Department of Social Services people, the very
18 next morning.
19 Now, what I want to do is -- at this point,
20 is I want to share with you just a few of the
21 comments from the Bashir transcript. I want to
22 share with you some of the things that caused the
23 reactions and the movement of the people and the
24 parties involved in this particular case that I've
25 already discussed rather briefly.
26 And before I do that, though, I want to stop
27 and tell you, in caution and in candor and in
28 fairness, this video that you will hear is about an 32
1 hour and 40 minutes long. And it's not my intention
2 to lift from that -- from that video just a portion
3 of it. But you will see from what I'm going to
4 lift, that it is the parts that deal most
5 specifically with this case.
6 This is the interview of Martin Bashir and
7 the defendant. It's the interview that occurs
8 towards the end of the eight-month journey in the
9 filming of the life and "Living with Michael
10 Jackson" video documentary.
11 "Martin Bashir: It was a great privilege to
12 meet Gavin because he's had a lot of suffering in
13 his life.
14 "Michael Jackson: Yeah.
15 "Martin Bashir: When Gavin was there, he
16 talked about the fact that he shares your bedroom.
17 "Michael Jackson: Yes.
18 "Martin Bashir: Can you understand why
19 people would worry about that.
20 "Michael Jackson: Because they're ignorant.
21 "Bashir: But is it really appropriate for a
22 40-year-old man to share a bedroom with a child that
23 is not related to him.
24 "Michael Jackson: That's a beautiful thing.
25 "Martin Bashir: That's not a worrying
26 thing.
27 "Michael Jackson: Why should it be
28 worrying. Who's the criminal. Who's the Jack the 33
1 Ripper in the room. This is a guy trying to help
2 and heal a child. I'm sleeping in a sleeping bag on
3 the floor. I give him the bed because he has a
4 brother named Star, so him and Star took the bed and
5 I'm on the floor in the sleeping bag.
6 "Did you ever sleep in bed with him.
7 "No, but I have slept in bed with many
8 children. I sleep in bed with all of them.
9 "Bashir: But is that right, Michael.
10 "Michael: It's very right. It's very
11 loving. That's what the world needs now. More
12 love, more love.
13 "Martin Bashir: The world. The world
14 needs....
15 "Michael Jackson: More heart.
16 "Martin Bashir: The world. The world needs
17 a man, 44, sleeping in bed with children.
18 "Michael Jackson. No, you're making it --
19 no, no, you're making it all wrong. That's wrong.
20 "Bashir: Well, tell me. Help me.
21 "Michael Jackson: Because what's wrong with
22 sharing a love. You don't sleep with your kids and
23 some other kids" -- I'm sorry. "You don't sleep
24 with your kids or some other kids who need love who
25 didn't have a good childhood.
26 "Martin Bashir: No. No, I don't. I never
27 dream of sleeping --
28 "Michael Jackson: Well, I would. I would. 34
1 Because you've never been where I've been mentally."
2 Later on in the transcript, Bashir goes on:
3 "But isn't that precisely the problem, that when you
4 actually invite children into your bed, you never
5 know what's going to happen.
6 "Michael Jackson: But when you say 'bed,'
7 you're thinking sexual. They make it sexual. It's
8 not sexual. We're going to sleep. I tuck them in.
9 We put -- I put a little, like, music on. We do a
10 little story time. I read a book. It's very sweet.
11 We put the fireplace on. We give them hot milk, you
12 know, and we have little cookies. It's very
13 charming. It's very sweet."
14 Ladies and gentlemen, this case begins with
15 ten-year-old Gavin Arvizo. It begins in the year
16 2000. It begins when Gavin Arvizo is living with
17 his mother, Janet Arvizo, and his father David, and
18 his older sister Davallin, and his younger brother
19 Star, in a studio apartment in East Los Angeles.
20 It begins with his diagnosis of stage four
21 cancer at the age of 10. In an attempt to stem the
22 cancer, a medicine-sized -- medicine-ball-size
23 tumor, weighing 16 pounds, is removed from his
24 abdomen. Lesions were removed from his lungs. His
25 gall bladder was removed. Lymph nodes were removed.
26 And one kidney was also removed.
27 For a year, he underwent chemotherapy. Long
28 recuperative hospitalizations and long periods of 35
1 recuperation at his grandparents' place. And in all
2 candor, the doctors told the Arvizos and told Gavin
3 Arvizo to prepare for his funeral, that he wasn't
4 going to survive.
5 But, you see, Gavin's a fighter, and Gavin
6 wasn't willing to quit. And because of a miracle,
7 today Gavin is alive and his cancer is in remission
8 and he's a freshman in high school. And he's an
9 active member of a Navy Explorer unit and has gone
10 through a boot camp in 2003 in Virginia. And he
11 played football on his freshman high school football
12 team this year.
13 During Gavin's fight for life, however,
14 there were people actively involved in supporting
15 him. And one of those people that you're going to
16 learn about in this case is Jamie Masada.
17 Now, Jamie Masada you probably have not
18 heard of, but you may have heard of the company that
19 he founded. He started with The Laugh Factory on
20 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. He now has places
21 in Hawaii and he has a place in New York City. It's
22 for comedians. And as one of the things that Mr.
23 Masada did, is he sponsored camps during the summer
24 for underprivileged children.
25 And during the summer one year when the
26 children were younger, the three children, Davallin,
27 Star and Gavin, participated at The Laugh Factory in
28 a summer program for underprivileged children. 36
1 Jamie Masada took a liking to the children.
2 He particularly took a liking to Gavin. And when he
3 heard that Gavin was -- had cancer, that it was
4 serious and that he may not live, he began to visit
5 Gavin on a regular basis.
6 And some of -- you know, unfortunately one
7 of the things that happens to kids that are going to
8 die from cancer, there are organizations and people
9 and individuals, allow them to try to make a last
10 wish, to make a wish.
11 And Gavin's wish, Gavin's wish was to meet
12 some comedians and entertainers. And Gavin's wish
13 was to meet Chris Tucker. And Gavin's wish was to
14 meet Adam Sandler. And Gavin's wish was to meet the
15 defendant in this case, Michael Jackson.
16 He actually met all of them. The first call
17 came from the defendant while Gavin Arvizo was in
18 the hospital recuperating from one of his
19 chemotherapy sessions. Over the next several weeks,
20 they exchanged television calls on a regular basis.
21 The calls often lasted hours.
22 And during one of the recuperative periods
23 when Gavin was at home, Michael Jackson invited the
24 Arvizo family from East Los Angeles to the ranch of
25 Neverland here in Santa Barbara County.
26 In August of 2000, the Arvizo family,
27 Gavin's -- Gavin, ten, and Star, nine, were picked
28 up in a limousine with their mother and their father 37
1 and their brother, and traveled to Neverland Valley
2 Ranch.
3 It was here -- and you can imagine just
4 about the excitement that must have been with the
5 family, coming from an environment like that to the
6 ranch and this beauty that we have here in Santa
7 Barbara County. And the family was put up in the
8 guest cottages at the ranch and they were there for
9 several days.
10 Now, on the night before the last day that
11 they were to leave, Michael Jackson, the defendant
12 in this case, takes Gavin aside, and he says to
13 Gavin, "Gavin, why don't you ask your parents if you
14 can spend the night in my bedroom, at the dinner
15 table tonight."
16 Well, obviously here's a little kid who's in
17 the midst of a life-threatening disease --
18 MR. MESEREAU: Objection.
19 MR. SNEDDON: -- a chance to spend the
20 night --
21 MR. MESEREAU: Objection.
22 THE COURT: Overruled. Go ahead.
23 MR. SNEDDON: -- the chance to spend the
24 night with one of his idols. Gavin obliges. Gavin
25 asks his parents at dinner, "Can I spend the night
26 with Michael Jackson in his bedroom."
27 And the parents say, "Yes"; they agree. And
28 it's agreed that Star will go along with them. 38
1 Now, what happens that night is this: The
2 defendant, Frank Tyson, the defendant's children,
3 particularly his son Prince, Prince Michael, and the
4 two Arvizo boys are in the downstairs area of the
5 Jackson bedroom suite. And after a few hours, they
6 go upstairs to the bedroom. And when they get up
7 into the bedroom, Tyson pulls out a laptop computer,
8 and Jackson and Tyson are hooking the computer up to
9 the Internet. And when they get on the Internet,
10 they then place the computer with the boys there,
11 and they take the boys, nine-year-old and
12 ten-year-old, on a tour of sexually explicit
13 websites. Naked ladies. They take them on a tour
14 of a number of websites. And it lasts approximately
15 30 to 40 minutes.
16 And during the time that they travel through
17 these websites, at one of the points in time when a
18 female is shown to -- with her shirt up, exposing
19 her breasts, the defendant turns and exclaims: "Got
20 milk." And he turns around to the sleeping Prince
21 on the bed and says, "Prince, you're missing a lot
22 of pussy."
23 The Arvizo boys spent the night with Michael
24 Jackson. They did not sleep in bed with him. They
25 slept in the bed. And it is true, Jackson slept on
26 the floor.
27 The Arvizo boys returned to the ranch a
28 couple of times during 2000. Never with their 39
1 mother or their sister again. Jackson was rarely
2 there. And after several months, the relationship
3 drifted apart. The number that Gavin had been given
4 for the defendant was no longer good. There was no
5 more phone calls and there was relatively no contact
6 between the Arvizos and Michael Jackson.
7 However, the participation of Gavin Arvizo
8 in the Martin Bashir video changed his life forever.
9 Because, you see, Gavin Arvizo ended up being one of
10 those boys who shared a bed with the defendant,
11 Michael Jackson.
12 He didn't do it in 2000 on the first visit
13 to the ranch. And he didn't do it, as many people
14 suspected, when they saw the Martin Bashir video.
15 But he did it in February and in March of 2003 at
16 Neverland Valley Ranch.
17 I want to take you now back to some of the
18 statements that we heard in the Bashir tape made by
19 the defendant in this case. I want to take you back
20 to the admissions that are found in that video about
21 his public statements acknowledging sharing his
22 bedroom and his bed with young boys, and to the
23 circumstances of the explanation under -- in which
24 he says he does so. Let's explore that for a
25 moment.
26 You see, the private world of Michael
27 Jackson is quite different from what he said on that
28 video. As the testimony and the evidence unfolds in 40
1 this particular case, you will learn that the
2 stories he refers to in that video remark do not
3 consist of children's books, but the Internet visits
4 to sexually explicit sites, the exposure of children
5 to suitcases, briefcases laden with sexually
6 explicit magazines and centerfold cutouts from
7 magazines such as Hustler and Playboy, with titles
8 like "Barely Legal Hard-Core," "Barely Legal" and
9 many others with far more offensive covers and cover
10 titles.
11 You see, the private world of Michael
12 Jackson reveals that instead of cookies and instead
13 of milk, you can substitute wine, vodka, and
14 bourbon.
15 Now, publicly Michael Jackson says he
16 doesn't drink. But his private behavior and conduct
17 is quite the opposite, as you will learn through
18 numerous witnesses in this case.
19 First he's caught on film talking to Martin
20 Bashir about wine. And he uses it and describes it
21 as "Jesus Juice," the same exact expression that the
22 Arvizo children told detectives in this case that
23 Michael Jackson used in referring to red wine that
24 he provided to them, and he referred to it as "Jesus
25 Juice."
26 Former employees and security guards and
27 maids of the defendant will tell you that he
28 furnished alcohol, that he encouraged children to 41
1 drink, and on occasion he was actually viewed to
2 pour drinks for children.
3 Several airline stewardesses will testify in
4 this case. They work for a charter jet
5 organization. They are the stewardesses on
6 chartered planes chartered by the defendant in this
7 case. And they have, in conjunction with the work
8 that they do, a profile of information as to what to
9 take on the plane to satisfy the people that are
10 going to be on the plane.
11 They will tell you that they have not only
12 seen -- they have not only seen the defendant drink
13 alcohol on the planes, they have furnished it. And
14 they have furnished it in a method and a manner
15 exactly like the Arvizo children told detectives in
16 this case that the defendant does; and that is, that
17 it is put in Diet Coke or soda pop cans.
18 Indeed, several employees, including his
19 long-time security guard Chris Carter, and others,
20 will tell you that they observed children on the
21 ranch drinking, in highly intoxicated states on a
22 number of occasions when Jackson is on the ranch.
23 Security Guard Chris Carter will tell you
24 that he observed one incident one night where he
25 encountered Gavin Arvizo. It was late. It was
26 dark. Gavin was intoxicated, and he wanted to get
27 into one of the little carts, electric carts that
28 you can use to drive around the premises. 42
1 Carter stopped him. He saw that Gavin was
2 in no condition to drive. And he told him that he
3 couldn't do that. When Carter asked the boy why he
4 was drinking, he replied, Michael Jackson told him
5 that he had to be a man and drink.
6 In another incident, Michael Jackson's
7 personal attendant and a long-time employee, Jesus
8 Salas, will describe taking a full bottle of wine
9 and a full bottle of vodka on a tray into Michael
10 Jackson's bedroom with four glasses.
11 And when he got into the bedroom, he saw the
12 defendant and three children sitting on the bed.
13 And when he came back the next morning to clean out
14 the bedroom, both bottles were empty, and the
15 glasses had been used.
16 Another ranch employee, Kiki Fornier, is
17 going to testify in this case. And she will tell
18 you that on a number of occasions she saw three
19 local Santa Ynez boys intoxicated, saw them at a
20 time when Jackson was on the ranch and Jackson was
21 with the boys. And she viewed this on a number of
22 occasions.
23 The private world of Michael Jackson reveals
24 that instead of bedtime discussions and children's
25 books and discussions of Peter Pan, at the same time
26 that this 44-year-old man is sharing with
27 13-year-old Gavin and 12-year-old Star and another
28 11-year-old boy his collection of sexually explicit 43
1 magazines, that he's talking to Gavin about
2 masturbation. And he's telling him that it is
3 normal, and that it is okay, and that everybody does
4 it.
5 That each of these acts are calculated to
6 desensitize the boy, to change his moral antenna,
7 and to add the trust and the admiration of an adult
8 voice to the boy's conduct to convince him that what
9 was being done was all right in the adult world.
10 And it worked.
11 Lastly, you're going to be able to peek into
12 the defendant's private world, and you're going to
13 hear Gavin Arvizo describe to you his molestation.
14 You will hear Star Arvizo tell you how, on
15 other occasions, he happened upon seeing Michael
16 Jackson masturbating himself with one hand while
17 Jackson's other hand was inserted into the
18 underpants of his brother, Gavin.
19 Your Honor, I think this will probably be a
20 good place to take the morning recess.
21 THE COURT: All right. We'll take a
22 15-minute recess.
23 (Recess taken.)
24 --o0o--
25
26
27
28 44
1 THE COURT: Mr. Sneddon. Go ahead.
2 MR. SNEDDON: Thank you, Your Honor.
3 Ladies and gentlemen, the scene for most of
4 the events that occur in this particular case is
5 going to be the defendant's home, Neverland Valley
6 Ranch. And I think you'll get a very good feel for
7 the ranch through videos that are going to be shown
8 probably by both sides, as well as snippets of tape
9 and footage that is shown in the Martin Bashir
10 documentary.
11 But for just a moment, since probably most
12 or none of you have an idea of what the ranch is
13 like, I want to take you on a little visual tour of
14 what it is.
15 And I want to say, first and foremost, that
16 the ranch is something that is a beautiful thing.
17 And it's been used for beautiful causes. For the
18 children, the underprivileged children, for the
19 children who have been suffering, who have been
20 brought there to share a day or a weekend on the
21 ranch. It's something very good.
22 But just like so many things in life,
23 something very good can end up being, on another
24 occasion, in another setting, something very bad.
25 And several of the witnesses in this case
26 are going to tell you that some of the young
27 visitors at the ranch, that stay on and that visit
28 with Mr. Jackson, and who are there on a prolonged 45
1 basis, begin to change because of the personality of
2 the ranch. That it creates a no-rules,
3 no-restriction, no-wants environment. And people
4 who walk in there with manners walk out and can be
5 described by some of the staff as hellions, rude,
6 obnoxious. And what is there about Neverland that
7 can do that to somebody.
8 What is there about Neverland Valley Ranch.
9 Well, first of all, for those of you who may
10 not know where it is, I'll try to describe it to you
11 briefly. It's at the foot of the Los Padres
12 National Forest. It's about 2,800 acres. And it's
13 about 4.5 miles from Los Olivos, or, better put,
14 Mattei's Tavern, up Figueroa Mountain Road. It has
15 a zoo with lots of animals. And you heard Mr.
16 Mesereau talk about some of those animals during the
17 questioning of some of you folks.
18 It has an amusement park with a ferris wheel
19 and a merry-go-round and a lot of other rides for
20 the enjoyment of children and adults.
21 It has a NASCAR-type racing track with small
22 miniature NASCAR cars that people, even adults, can
23 drive around the track. And it has a theater
24 complex with a huge screen and a stage, where people
25 can go to watch movies at any time of the day or
26 night, with a snack bar with free popcorn, free ice
27 cream, and free candy of just about any variety or
28 sort that you may desire. 46
1 Neverland Valley Ranch, where selected
2 guests are allowed to drive electric-powered golf
3 carts out around the ranch's many acres into the
4 back country on roads, paths, many times
5 unsupervised. Complete with a two-story video
6 arcade. Video arcade with just about every
7 imaginable video game that you can think of, from
8 the old traditional type to the most recent virtual
9 reality type of video games. Two stories high,
10 packed with these things.
11 The arcade also has a cellar. The cellar is
12 hidden behind a juke box. Behind the juke box, you
13 remove it, go down into the cellar. And in the
14 cellar, wine and alcohol. And it's a place where
15 special guests of Mr. Jackson are taken and they're
16 invited into the cellar and they're treated to
17 alcoholic beverages poured by Mr. Jackson himself.
18 Neverland Valley Ranch, where music is piped
19 throughout the entire main residence area. The
20 lawns are sprinkled with statues and figurines of
21 kids and animals. An area that has a
22 Disneyland-like replica train station, and a
23 Disneyland-like replica train that takes people
24 throughout the grounds, to the zoo, and to the
25 amusement park, and the theater, and back to the
26 main house residence.
27 The residence is complete with four guest
28 cottages that are nestled down by two lakes that 47
1 form a boundary to the house.
2 Neverland Valley Ranch, where the main
3 residence has at least two rooms on the second floor
4 totally dedicated to every imaginable toy that a
5 child would ever want. Electric trains, games,
6 figures. Lifelike figurines of R2-D2, Darth Vader,
7 Superman, Batman, Daffy Duck. You name it. One
8 whole room devoted to dolls and dollhouses in the
9 main residence.
10 Next to the arcade and on the back side of
11 the house is a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi. And on
12 the other side is another part of the lake, a
13 teepee, trees to climb, tree houses. You name it.
14 It has everything.
15 Next to the main business -- main residence
16 is another building that's attached to it by an
17 arch. And in that arch, in that building, is a
18 security office on one end. And at the other end is
19 a personal office of the defendant, Michael Jackson.
20 In that office is a small museum with figurines, a
21 lot of lifelike figures in the back office, and six
22 large-sized plasma T.V.'s.
23 It's in this room that during the course of
24 the execution of the search warrant on November the
25 18th, 2003, that at least two sexually explicit
26 magazines were found, one teenaged themed.
27 Neverland Valley Ranch, where the defendant
28 reigns supreme in his own two-bedroom -- two-floor 48
Subject: February 28, 2005 
Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:32 am
