Thomas Mesereau

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- In a highly unusual move, the judge in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case ordered the district attorney yesterday to take the stand and explain a raid on a private investigator's office. Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville wants to know if the seizure of videotapes and computer hard drives from investigator Bradley Miller's office in November 2003 violated Jackson's attorney-client privilege. The defense says Miller was working for the pop star's lawyer at the time, Mark Geragos.

The private world of Michael Jackson, fiercely shielded by the superstar in life, was exposed in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. But rather than suffering harm from revelations of drug use, experts say Jackson's legacy and posthumous earning power will survive any damage done and could actually grow after he was portrayed as a victim of a money-hungry doctor. Jackson died before he could launch a series of highly anticipated comeback concerts in London as he tried to regain the towering status he enjoyed when he released the "Thriller" album in 1983.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A judge yesterday set a tentative trial date of Sept. 13 for the abuse charges against singer Michael Jackson and heard arguments on whether to reduce the pop star's bail. Jackson wasn't in court, and few fans turned out for the hearing. Jackson's defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., objected to the trial date, saying the prosecution had not given the defense all evidence in the case. Mesereau said prosecutors have discussed forensic testing, but did not disclose what was being tested or the manner of testing so the defense could decide whether it considers the...

LOS ANGELES -- Two of the jurors who voted to acquit singer Michael Jackson of child molestation and other charges say they regret their decisions. Jurors Eleanor Cook and Ray Hultman, who both have pending book deals, said in a televised interview last night that they believed the singer's young accuser was sexually assaulted. "No doubt in my mind whatsoever, that boy was molested, and I also think he enjoyed to some degree being Michael Jackson's toy," Cook said on MSNBC's "Rita Cosby: Live and Direct.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson, dressed in white and accompanied by his parents and five siblings, returned to court yesterday to watch a showdown over key evidence with the prosecutor who has pursued the singer for years on child molestation charges. In a tense, packed courtroom, Jackson defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. took the offensive, questioning Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon for two hours over a November 2003 search of the office of a private investigator hired by Jackson's former attorney.

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson is replacing high-profile lawyers Mark Geragos and Benjamin Brafman in his child molestation case, the lawyers said yesterday. The pop superstar's new lawyer will be Thomas Mesereau Jr., another well-known criminal defense attorney who represented actor Robert Blake in his murder case until they recently parted company, citing irreconcilable differences. "Based on recent developments and discussions with various persons in the Jackson camp, it became clear that it would be best if Mark and I decided to step down," Brafman said.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A prosecutor said yesterday that pop star Michael Jackson enticed a young boy, then imprisoned him and his family, and forced them to make a video absolving him of molestation claims. The fiery court presentation by Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss disclosed for the first time the prosecution's theory of its conspiracy case against Jackson, claiming he panicked after a television show threatened to destroy his career by linking him with an obsession with young boys.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The stepfather of Michael Jackson's accuser testified yesterday that after the broadcast of a damaging TV documentary about Jackson, an associate of the pop star offered the family a college education and a house. But the stepfather said when he sought money for the family, he was accused of blackmail. The stepfather took the stand as the prosecution shifted from witnesses who alleged past improprieties by Jackson back to the current allegations that the singer molested a 13-year-old boy in February or March 2003, gave him alcohol, and conspired to...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's lawyer yesterday confronted a 14-year-old boy whose brother was allegedly molested by the singer, pointing to discrepancies between the boy's trial testimony and earlier accounts, and extracting an admission that the youth lied in another case. "I knew more back then," the boy said when the discrepancies emerged during a grueling cross-examination. "It was fresher in my memory. " "Did someone tell you to say that?" defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. asked.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The child molestation case against Michael Jackson went to the jury yesterday after the defense begged the panel to acquit the singer, portraying Jackson as a victim of grifters trying to pull "the biggest con of their careers. " Prosecutors painted a vastly different picture during their closing argument -- one of Jackson as a serial child molester and his Neverland Ranch as a predator's lair. Jurors spent about two hours deliberating before going home for the weekend.

LOS OLIVOS, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's accuser is distressed and having "a difficult time" dealing with the not-guilty verdict against the pop singer, the prosecutor in the molestation case said yesterday. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon told NBC's "Today" that he spoke to the accuser immediately after Jackson was acquitted on all counts Monday. "He's very down. He's having a difficult time understanding why people didn't believe him," Sneddon said.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's lawyer said yesterday that the pop star is going to be more careful from now on and not let children into his bed anymore because "it makes him vulnerable to false charges. " In an interview the morning after Jackson's acquittal on all counts, Thomas Mesereau Jr. said he is convinced the pop star "never molested any child. " He said Jackson will continue to be "a convenient target for people who want to extract money or build careers at his expense.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The child molestation case against Michael Jackson went to the jury yesterday after the defense begged the panel to acquit the singer, portraying Jackson as a victim of grifters trying to pull "the biggest con of their careers. " Prosecutors painted a vastly different picture during their closing argument -- one of Jackson as a serial child molester and his Neverland Ranch as a predator's lair. Jurors spent about two hours deliberating before going home for the weekend.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A social worker testified yesterday at Michael Jackson's child molestation trial that she met privately with the accuser and his family during the time they claim they were Jackson's captives, and they praised him and denied any sexual abuse. Irene Peters, a 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said she met with the mother and her three children on Feb. 20, 2003, after the airing of a documentary that drew attention to Jackson's relationship with the boy who is now his accuser.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Macaulay Culkin, who starred in the movie "Home Alone," firmly testified yesterday that he was never molested by Michael Jackson and told jurors that he and the pop star have a bond based on the shared experience of being children thrust into stardom. The 24-year-old actor was the third young man to testify at Jackson's trial that as boys they slept with Jackson at his Neverland ranch and were neither molested nor inappropriately touched, as prosecution witnesses have alleged.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A forensic accountant testified in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday that the pop star was spending $20 million to $30 million more every year than he earns, a deep financial problem that the prosecution contends underlies conspiracy allegations in the case. The prosecution also tried to undermine earlier testimony from one of their own witnesses -- Jackson's former wife Deborah Rowe -- by calling an investigator who said the former wife told him last year that the singer was a "sociopath.

LOS ANGELES -- Two of the jurors who voted to acquit singer Michael Jackson of child molestation and other charges say they regret their decisions. Jurors Eleanor Cook and Ray Hultman, who both have pending book deals, said in a televised interview last night that they believed the singer's young accuser was sexually assaulted. "No doubt in my mind whatsoever, that boy was molested, and I also think he enjoyed to some degree being Michael Jackson's toy," Cook said on MSNBC's "Rita Cosby: Live and Direct.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- They may not be as unpredictable as Michael Jackson, but witnesses in the singer's child molestation case have surprised lawyers on both sides with unexpected testimony. Flight attendant Cynthia Bell had been expected to testify this past week that Jackson shared wine with his young accuser on an airplane trip, but she said no such thing. Bell testified she served Jackson wine in a Diet Coke can but did not see the boy drink from it. Prosecutors also thought Jesus Salas, the pop star's former house manager, would say he...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A travel agent testified in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday that she was asked to arrange a one-way trip to Brazil for the singer's accuser and his family, but that the journey was abruptly canceled. The testimony by Cynthia Montgomery was offered to support a prosecution contention that Jackson was planning to kidnap the accuser and his family and send them to Brazil for an indefinite period after a damaging February 2003 documentary in which the singer said he let children sleep in his bed. Montgomery said all the orders for the planned March...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The mother of Michael Jackson's accuser lashed out at the pop star from the witness stand yesterday, declaring that Jackson "really didn't care about children, he cared about what he was doing with children. " The woman resisted answering questions by defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. and began her fourth day on the witness stand by making speeches to the jury. She looked at Jackson across the courtroom and said: "He managed to fool the world.