MJ pulls an OJ
 

MSNBC is reporting that there is a warrant out for Michael Jackson, since he hasn't shown up for the start of today's procedings.

Why is it that all of the crazy legal happenings seem to come from So Cal? :)

We're all loco out here.

For a second there, I thought you were talking about Michael Jordan.

This makes more sense.

It takes some girls longer than other to put on their face...

He's just powdering his nasal cavity.

CNN's saying that the Judge will issue a warrant if he's not at the court within the hour (from 8:35am PST).

Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Michael Jackson After He Failed to Show Up for Trial on Time
By TIM MOLLOY
The Associated Press
Mar. 10, 2005 - A judge issued an arrest warrant for Michael Jackson on Thursday after he failed to show up for his child molestation trial on time and his attorney announced the singer was being treated for a serious back problem.

Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville said he would also forfeit Jackson's $3 million bail unless he appeared in court within one hour.

The announcement came after a few minutes after court was to have begun. Jackson's accuser was expected to begin a second day of testimony against the singer.

The jury was not yet in the courtroom when the judge entered.

Jackson's lawyer, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said, "Mr. Jackson is at Cottage Hospital in Santa Ynez with a serious back problem. He does plan to come in."

The judge, obviously angry, declared, "I'm issuing a warrant for his arrest. I"m forfeiting his bail. I will hold the order for one hour."

Mesereau had been observed talking urgently on his cell phone for about a half-hour before the session was to begin.

Jackson has had health problems that previously interrupted the proceedings. During the first week of jury selection he went to a hospital with flu symptoms. But he has been on time or early since then.
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"Your honor, my client has no spine!"

He's waiting for rush hour traffic to clear so his OJ like get-away attempt can be easier to follow for the news copters.

I haven't seen MJ since the 70's.

MSNBC now reports that Jackson was in the hospital.

"I will hold the order for one hour."


Uh, then the Order wasn't issued and the article is patently wrong.

It just so happens that the hospital is in a country that doesn't have an extradition arrangement with the US. I guess his lawyer forgot to mention that... :D

WHO GIVES A CRAP?!?!?!?


sorry.

Was there *any* doubt in anyone's mind that this trial would be bizarre???

I thought there would be no hijinks of any kind. Just a plain old trial with a defense of "Kidnapped by aliens who stole my nose and melanin."

Ford salesman: "yeah, the Ford Bronco's been discontinued. We're trying to shed that whole fugitive on the run thing. This...is the Escape."


the chances arent good, but please let them find MJ in an Escape!!!

I really had faith that it wouldnt be bizarre until now. 2 MIN WARNING!

Please stop....I already see the visual in my mind. Stop doing this to people with highly imaginitive minds.

Saw him get there at 9:38. Four minutes late, I guess. What's funny is that he looked to be in "obvious pain" (at least according to CNN) from his left lower back. "He seems to be listing slightly to his left." Yet when fans behind him yelled, he turned first to his left, saw a bodyguard was in the way, and then turned to his right, looking backward and waving. Now, I'm no analyst for CNN, but even I can tell when someone is faking an injury. If my left lower back hurts, then I will not be turning to my right.

That was the only hour that I have watched this melodrama. No more.

Cue music

"Guess which one doesn't belong."

I saw 2 white guys and 1 white woman in that picture.

Show a little compassion for Michael Jackson
When he turns up on the evening news
Don’t judge that man or make fun of his tan
Until you’ve walked a mile backwards in his sequined shoes
And even if he is as bad as we might fear
We’re to blame, we gave him fame, and we can make him disappear

Famous people are weird
They can’t help it
It just goes along with being a star
We need our stars to act a little bizarre
If only to assure us how normal we are
When they’re smeared we’re all too eager to jeer
And when they’re cleared we’ll be first in line to cheer at the world premiere
Famous people are weird

So why don’t you show a little compassion for Michael Jackson
That poor guy never had a chance of being normal
And neither would you if your parents had you up there singing and dancing
When you were younger than the drummer from Hanson
You’da probably turned out like Marilyn Manson
Prancing on stage without any pants on

And even if they’re not as strange as they appear
We believe everything we hear
Like the one about Richard Gere
Just keep in mind before you sneer
Who gave them their career

Famous people are weird
They can’t help it
It just goes along with being a star

It’s like being the president
They start hating you the minute they vote you in

Wouldnt it be funny if Jacko was using this family all along for his benefit. What if he never touched the kid, and he constructed this whole case. He finds a fam with questionable credibility, the witnesses lie and the testimony conflicts. In the end, he will be found not guilty on all charges. He then proceeds to be vindicated, launches a new album, world tour, suddenly his image is better? I mean, he is a fruitcake, so maybe?

Two columns from Roger Friedman today...

Insiders Fear Jackson Will Commit Suicide

Michael Jackson's close friends now really fear that he will commit suicide. I am not kidding. The scene this morning at the courthouse in Santa Maria has convinced people who ordinarily do not say these things that Jackson is in serious mental trouble.

One thing is for sure: the combined pressures of his financial peril and seeing his accuser on the stand have undone Jackson. My insider says: "He does not have back trouble," as Jackson claimed. "He's making it up. But he's definitely in pain. He's creating it."

Jackson's publicist, Raymone Bain, insists that Jackson called his lawyer, Tom Mesereau, at 5:15am PST this morning to tell him of his severe back pain. But I can tell you that Jackson also made other calls to a variety of people. He didn't sound like he was in pain. He sounded like someone who'd been up all night and was frantic.

That's because last night, as we reported earlier today, a meeting took place at Neverland concerning the dire financial picture. Staffers have not been paid in two weeks. Some have walked off the job. Others are holding on for the moment, but as one said to me today: "When does loyalty become stupidity?"

Another Jackson source put the dilemma succinctly: "Michael is most terrified of people thinking he's broke. And now there's proof of it."

Yesterday, Jackson's brother Randy promised to come up with $150,000 to meet the arrears in payroll at Neverland. This did not materialize, and this morning Randy continues to be under the gun to find the money to keep the ranch going. Ironically, $150,000 used to be pocket change to Jackson, who routinely squandered millions on nonsensical, worthless souvenirs and tchotchkes. When he paid his 1993 accuser $20 million to avoid a court case, it was like a drop in the bucket.

But now a relatively small amount of money has driven him to wear pajamas and slippers to court on the most important day of his trial. Ironically — as I reported yesterday-- Randy Jackson tried to borrow $200,000 from another member of the inner circle — and failed.

The Biggest Day of Jacko's Life

Today may be the most important day in the 46 years Michael Jackson has moonwalked this earth.

In court, his 15-year-old accuser will make claims of sexual molestation and kidnapping. Because his cross-examination won't start until tomorrow, the icky allegations will come off as fact for at least one news cycle.

At the same time, Jackson must face a crisis at home. Members of his household staff at the Neverland Valley Ranch have walked off the job after not receiving paychecks for the second consecutive week.

Last night, members of Michael's family met at Neverland to discuss the situation. This morning, Michael's mother may find herself feeding the llamas.

As this column reported yesterday, Jackson has actually run out of money. His household account at Bank of America is empty and Jackson is unable to make the ranch's payroll.

What happened? Jackson ate through $9 million available to him for basic expenditures that the bank allowed. Another $3 million has gone to legal expenses, but my sources point out that Jackson's lawyers haven't received remuneration in at least three months.

What's not happening: Money isn't coming in from royalty payments and other sources of music income. It will come again, but not right now.

In Jackson's world, that has produced a dire situation. Neverland employs housekeepers, chefs, security people, groundskeepers, gardeners, painters, mechanics, horse handlers and irrigation experts. Many of them will not be reporting to work this morning.

I told you yesterday that Michael's brother Randy is being blamed for a lot of this, and that Jackson is probably removing many of his brother's responsibilities today.

But Randy can't be held entirely accountable for this situation. Jackson, my sources reminded us, created the problem himself by never dealing with the reality of his financial picture. Now he must pay up.

What will happen: Deals have been drawn up for Jackson to sell half of his remaining share in Sony/ATV Music Publishing. This would create instant income and set his ship right, at least for now.

Someone in his circle will come to him with an offer shortly. But there's no telling if he will accept it. He is backed into a corner.

One person who may know what's happened to the Neverland money is accountant Don Stabler, who was hired by Randy to manage Michael's affairs.

Stabler, according to my sources, was brought in so Randy could bypass Michael's longtime accountant Alan Whitman.

Yesterday, Stabler first told me that nothing was wrong and that everyone had been paid.

When I insisted that this wasn't true, Stabler replied, "You should keep an open mind."

As for the testimony today of the accusing boy: Linda Deutsch, the excellent Associated Press reporter covering the trial, has described the expression on his face as a "sneer."

So far in his testimony, the boy has said Jackson instructed him to call him "Daddy" when Martin Bashir was filming his documentary. But defense attorney Tom Mesereau will comb the boy's grand-jury testimony for inconsistencies with his current version of his story when the cross-examination begins.

Sorry, but there is only one MJ and that is Jordan.

I was looking on tv for a white Bronco chase with Jordan after seeing the title of this thread.

I find it hard to believe anybody that sits on the jury now will not have a hard time, after looking at his actions, making a link from to the accusations.

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought Michael Jordan had offed two people.

SI

No shit.

Why do you think they are leaking these reports of suicide? If they lose, they can argue he isn't "sane" enough to be in a general population type cell. I'm sure he will go to one of those fancy prisons anyway. DOn't think they will stick MJ in sing sing.

Did he end up getting cited yesterday or not? That freak won't last three days in jail if they put him there.