Jury selection ends in Jackson trial

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- In surprisingly quick time, a jury was selected Wednesday that will decide Michael Jackson's fate on charges that he molested a teenage boy at his Neverland Ranch.\n"We have a jury," Judge Rodney S. Melville announced. The judge then began the process of selecting eight alternates for a trial projected to last six months.\nThe panel consists of four men and eight women, ranging in age from 20 to 79.\nJury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but took only five court days, which were interrupted by a one-week break due to the death of an attorney's sister and another one-week break because Jackson was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms.\nSelection moved at a fast pace when the judge imposed tight time limits on how long each prospective juror could be questioned.\nAmong the jurors were a woman who said her grandson was required to register as a sexual offender because of a crime; a 20-year-old man who likes "The Simpsons" TV show; and a man who likes Western art and country music.\nThe court has not disclosed the races of jurors, and lawyers are under a gag order not to discuss the case. According to one public opinion poll, blacks are less inclined to believe the charges against Jackson. The jury seated Wednesday was primarily white and Hispanic and did not appear to include any of the half-dozen black prospective jurors who were in the initial pool.\nTwo black women who had been questioned as potential jurors were rejected by prosecutors. The defense objected on both occasions, -- one Tuesday, the other Wednesday -- and Jackson appeared upset when each woman was removed.\nThe second woman claimed her husband had been treated with prejudice while working for the sheriff's department. During questioning by a prosecutor, she criticized the makeup of the jury pool.\n"Just look around us. A jury of his peers would be people of his age and people of color, mixed diversity," she said. "How diverse is this jury looking to you right now?"\nJackson nodded along as the woman described her husband's experiences of discrimination and turned to watch her leave the courtroom.\nSome prospective alternate jurors were dismissed for hardship because of job commitments and several others because of personal experiences that could affect their judgment.\nOne of those excused said he was close friends with one of Jackson's cousins and also said his children had been to the pop star's Neverland ranch and had watched a movie and had ice cream with Jackson.\nSelection of the alternate panel was to continue Thursday.\nThe initial phase of seating a jury began Jan. 31 with the judge questioning hundreds of prospects about whether they had any hardships that would prevent them from serving on the projected six-month trial. By the next day, a pool of 243 prospects had been formed for individual questioning by lawyers.\nJackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.\nDuring questioning of prospective jurors, defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. asked prospects about their interest in the arts, their feelings toward Jackson, and whether they believed child witnesses could be led to lie. The defense will argue that the mother of Jackson's accuser has told him to lie.\nProsecutor Ron Zonen's questions included whether prospects were fans of Jackson, and whether they had seen a recent Fox News interview with Geraldo Rivera in which Jackson said many of the news reports about him are untrue.