People v. Jackson (full title: 1133603: The People of the State of California v. Michael Joe Jackson) was a 2005 criminal trial held in Santa Barbara CountySuperior Court in which American singer Michael Jackson was charged with molesting Gavin Arvizo, a 13-year-old boy. Jackson was indicted for four counts of molesting a minor, four counts of intoxicating a minor to molest him, one count of attempted child molestation, one count of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive, and conspiring to commit extortion and child abduction. He pleaded not guilty to all counts. The trial spanned approximately 18 months, from Jackson's arraignment on January 16, 2004 to June 13, 2005. The jury delivered a verdict of not guilty on all charges, including four lesser misdemeanour counts.
Michael Jackson's family isn't done denouncing the new film that accuses the late superstar of being a pedophile; now the estate is going after the media for allegedly accepting the accusers. Jackson had previously been accused of child sexual abuse in 1993; he denied the allegations and settled out of court. Like the previous allegations, Jackson was accused of abusing Arvizo in his home, Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County, California, where he often brought children and their families. A 2003 documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands with Arvizo and discussing sharing a bed with children, triggering a new investigation led by District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon Jr. With no physical evidence, the prosecution relied on testimonies from witnesses including the Arvizo family and Neverland employees, painting Jackson as a predator with a history of child sexual abuse. The defense, led by Thomas Mesereau, argued that the witnesses were unreliable, with histories of perjury and fraud. Celebrities including former child star Macaulay Culkin testified in Jackson's defense. The trial drew international media attention and created a media circus. In later years, more men alleged that Jackson had abused them, including Wade Robson, who had testified at the trial that Jackson had not molested him.
Background[edit]
Jackson's Neverland Ranch in 2008, the site of the alleged sexual abuse
In 1993, singer Michael Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler.[1] The abuse allegedly took place at Jackson's Neverland Ranch home in Santa Barbara, California.[2] The police investigation, led by District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon Jr,[3] was inconclusive and no charges were filed.[4] In January 1994, Jackson settled out of court with the Chandlers for $22 million.[2] In a statement, he said he was the victim of false allegations from people seeking to make money from him, and that he had settled to avoid a media circus.[5] In August 2000, Gavin Arvizo, a boy with cancer in remission, visited Neverland Ranch with his family.[6] Jackson said he invited sick children to his home to have fun because he felt sorry for them; he felt he had been robbed of his own childhood.[7] In 2003, ITV broadcast a documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, for which journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Jackson over eight months.[8] The Guardian described the documentary as 'the fuse that ignited the case and the trial'.[9] In the documentary, Jackson and Arvizo held hands and discussed sleepovers,[2] and Jackson said he had slept in bed with many children. He said: 'It's not sexual, we're going to sleep. I tuck them in.. It's very charming, it's very sweet.'[8] Jackson received criticism and some newspapers called for his children to be removed from his custody.[8] In a press release in February 2003, Sneddon stated that under California law an adult sleeping in bed with a child was not a criminal offense unless 'affirmative, offensive conduct' occurs.[10] Investigation and arrest[edit]
Michael Jackson's mug shot
In June 2003, Sneddon reopened the investigation into Jackson.[2] The investigation lasted two years and produced 1,900 pages of grand jury testimony.[11] In August, authorities interviewed Gavin Arvizo, his mother Janet, and younger brother Star.[2] In November, Gavin told police that Jackson had molested him several times in February and March 2003, when, according to Janet, Jackson had held the family captive at Neverland Ranch.[2] On November 18, 2003,[6] police searched Neverland Ranch.[5] Nothing incriminating was found.[12] On November 23, Jackson was arrested and led in handcuffs by the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department before the media.[13] He was released an hour later after posting a $3 million bond.[6] Shortly after the arrest, Jackson issued a statement saying the claims were 'predicated on a big lie'.[13] Fans gathered in cities around the world to show their support.[13] In an interview with 60 Minutes, Jackson claimed that the police had mistreated him and he complained of a dislocated shoulder.[7] He reaffirmed his innocence and said that he was determined not to settle out of court as he had done in 1993.[7] In August 2004, the California attorney general's office concluded, after an independent investigation, that Jackson was neither 'manhandled' nor mistreated when he was taken into custody.[14] On December 18, 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of a committing a felony.[15] On April 21, 2004, a grand jury indicted Jackson on several additional related charges, including conspiracy involving child abduction, false imprisonment, and extortion.[2] If convicted, he could have been jailed for 20 years.[16] Trial[edit]![]()
Thomas Mesereau (pictured in 2007) led the defense.
The trial began on February 28, 2005[2] in the courthouse of Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, in central California.[2] It was presided over by Judge Rodney Melville.[16] Melville dismissed 21 motions before the trial, banned cameras from the courtroom, put a gag order on both sides, and oversaw a three-day jury selection process.[11] He delayed the jury selection for a week while Jackson was hospitalized with flu.[11] Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon led the prosecution. Sneddon had a reputation as an effective prosecutor, and for being 'fiercely competitive', 'pugnacious', and 'tenacious'.[17]Santa Barbara News-Press editor Gary Roberts characterized him as 'a law-and-order guy who sees the world in black and white. There's bad guys and good guys, and he sees himself as the good guy.'[17] Some, such as attorney Gary Dunlap, alleged that Sneddon saw the trial as an opportunity for payback after his 1993 investigation was inconclusive.[17][18] At a news conference shortly before the charges were announced, Sneddon was criticized for using a jovial and 'cocky' tone, joking: 'Like the sheriff and I really are into [Jackson's] kind of music.'[17] Jackson's legal team attempted to have Sneddon and his team disqualified on grounds of bias over the failed 1993 case, but the judge dismissed both attempts.[11]Thomas Mesereau led the defense.[2]Esa v505 vtwin downloader. Under California law, previous allegations can be used to show that a defendant is a habitual sex offender, regardless of whether the allegations went to court.[3] The judge allowed testimony about past allegations, including the 1993 case, to establish whether Jackson had a propensity to commit certain crimes.[19][20] The prosecution hoped to show that Jackson had engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse with boys. They called on witnesses to describe earlier incidents, including Jackson's alleged 1993 abuse of Jordan Chandler.[21] The prosecution argued that Jackson used Neverland, his 'fantasy hideaway' with candy and theme park attractions, to lure boys and force them into sex, and flattered their parents with gifts.[22] The prosecution also said that, after Living With Michael Jackson aired, Jackson and his entourage had attempted to hold the Arvizo family captive at Neverland and force them to participate in a rebuttal film.[11] In March, as Gavin Arvizo was about to testify, Jackson was late for court. Judge Melville issued a warrant for his arrest and said Jackson's $3 million bond would be forfeited if he did not arrive within an hour.[16] Jackson arrived an hour and ten minutes late dressed in pajamas and appeared to weep in court.[16] In an interview shortly afterwards, he claimed he had slipped in the shower and bruised his lung 'very badly'.[23] He said the ongoing trial had been the lowest period in his life, and denied rumors about his financial problems, saying they had been part of a smear campaign.[23] Witnesses for the prosecution[edit]Martin Bashir[edit]On March 1, Martin Bashir, who had interviewed Jackson for Living with Michael Jackson, took to the witness stand. The documentary was played for the jury.[24] Bashir refused to answer questions from the defense.[11] According to the Guardian, he was 'left a trembling wreck' by Mesereau, who accused him of inveigling Jackson for access.[9] Jason Francia[edit]Jason Francia, who was 24 at the time of the trial, testified that Jackson had molested him on several occasions while tickling him, reaching up and touching his private parts. Francia's mother was employed by Jackson as a maid. Francia said that 'every time I was being tickled there was some sort of exchange of money', with the understanding that he would not tell his mother.[3] Neverland Ranch staff[edit]In April 2005, Ralph Chacon, a former security guard at Neverland Ranch, testified that he had seen Jackson performing oral sex on Chandler in the early 1990s.[25] He also described seeing Jackson passionately kiss him and place his hand on the boy's crotch.[21] He said he did not report the incident to police because he thought he would not be believed.[25] A former maid at the ranch, Adrian McManus, alleged she had seen Jackson kissing boys including the child star Macaulay Culkin, and described Jackson touching Culkin's leg and 'rear end'.[25] She also claimed that she had seen Jackson touching Chandler's genitals.[25] Culkin denied being molested by Jackson.[25] The defense sought to portray Chacon and McManus as unreliable. According to the Guardian, each witness had a 'horrific story .. Yet, rather than calling the police, each appears to have sold that story to a supermarket tabloid.'[22] McManus had previously denied witnessing misconduct from Jackson in a 1993 court deposition while under oath. In the 2005 trial, she said she had lied because she feared Jackson would report her to her superiors if she told police about the incident.[25] In the 1990s, both Chacon and McManus had been part of a lawsuit filed against Jackson for wrongful dismissal. After Jackson counter-sued, their lawsuit was thrown out as fraudulent and malicious.[25] According to testimony, Chacon and McManus had been found guilty of stealing items from Jackson's house amounting to more than $50,000, and ordered to pay more than $1 million in legal fees.[21] Under cross-examination from Mesereau, the pair admitted that they had been paid thousands of dollars to give a tabloid interview. McManus admitted that she and her husband were found to have defrauded a relative's children of money from their estate, and that she had stolen a sketch by Jackson worth $35,000.[21] Mesereau accused the pair of attempting to 'get even' with Jackson for the failed suit and characterized them as money-seekers.[21] Housekeeper Kiki Fournier testified that the Arvizo children became unruly at Neverland Ranch without authority figures. She said the Arvizo boys 'trashed' their guest rooms, and that at one point Star had pointed a knife at her in Jackson's kitchen.[26] She said that although the boys had guest rooms they would often stay with Jackson.[26] However, she said she never saw Jackson giving the boys alcohol and never saw them drunk.[26] Cynthia Bell, a flight attendant who had served Jackson, testified that she never saw him share his drink with Gavin. She said she had devised the custom of serving Jackson wine in soda cans because Jackson did not like to drink alcohol in front of his children.[27] Bell said she had not seen Jackson 'cuddling' with Arvizo during the flight, but testified that she had seen Jackson put his arm around him while he was listening to music.[28] She said that Gavin was demanding, complained about the food, and was unruly during the flight.[28] Phillip Lemarque, Jackson's cook, said he entered Jackson's room and saw Jackson with his hand in Culkin's underpants.[22] Jesús Salas, a former Neverland house manager at the Neverland Ranch, testified that he often saw Jackson drunk, and sometimes saw children emerging drunk from the wine cellar with Jackson.[3] The judge ruled out lurid testimony from a former security guard who alleged that he saw Jackson in his bedroom with a boy.[29] June Chandler[edit]Jordan Chandler, the alleged victim in the 1993 child abuse allegations, left the country rather than appear as a witness.[30] He had been legally emancipated from his parents.[30] In the event that Chandler gave evidence, Mesereau said that he had prepared witnesses who would say Chandler had told them the abuse never happened and that he would never talk to his parents again for forcing him to lie.[30] Chandler's mother, June Chandler, testified that Jackson had become angry and upset when she would not allow Jordan to share his bedroom. She claimed Jackson told her: 'We're a family. Why don't you allow Jordie to be with me.? Jordie is having fun. Why can't he sleep in my bed? There's nothing going on. Why don't you trust me?'[22] She relented, and in return received a gold Cartier bracelet from Jackson.[22] She told the court that she had not spoken to her son in 11 years.[31] During her testimony, she claimed that she could not remember being sued by Jackson[32] (who had counter-sued for extortion) and said that she had never heard of her own attorney.[32] Gavin Arvizo[edit]Gavin Arvizo was 15 when he testified.[16] He claimed that, after Living with Michael Jackson aired, Jackson had begun serving him and his younger brother wine and making sexual advances.[33] He said that Jackson had masturbated him to ejaculation after they drank alcohol,[34] and then told him that if men do not masturbate, they 'might rape a girl'.[35] Challenged by Mesereau, who said that Gavin had told sheriffs that his grandmother had said this, Gavin said 'I'm not exactly sure what my grandmother told me'.[35] Gavin admitted that he had told his school administrator that Jackson had not molested him.[35] The prosecution alleged that Jackson had exposed Gavin to pornography. Fingerprints from Gavin and Jackson were found on pornographic magazines belonging to Jackson. Mesereau countered that Jackson had caught Gavin reading them and locked them in a briefcase.[24] The trial heard that Gavin's father had persistently begged celebrities for money after Gavin had been diagnosed with cancer.[33] Star Arvizo[edit]Gavin's younger brother, Star, told the court that he had twice seen Jackson molest Gavin.[36] He also said that Jackson had displayed his erection and masturbated in front of them, telling them that 'everyone did it' and encouraging them to try it.[36], and that Jackson had touched him sexually.[37] Star testified that Jackson had given the boys alcohol, sometimes in soda cans, and which Jackson called 'Jesus juice'.[36] Star also said Jackson had showed the brothers internet pornography on his computer.[36]The Guardian described Star as a 'hapless witness for the prosecution, forgetting crucial details that he had revealed to the grand jury, even when prompted by the prosecution'.[9] Janet Arvizo[edit]Gavin and Star's mother, Janet, was the star witness.[9] The Guardian described her as eccentric, 'talking over lawyers, extemporising, and turning dramatically during cross-examination by Mr Jackson's lawyer to address the jurors .. Her appearance was a disaster for the prosecution, but if not called by the prosecution, she would have been called by the defence to even worse effect.'[9] According to the BBC, Janet Arvizo was an 'explosive'[33] witness who gave a 'combative and rambling' testimony,[29] made erratic outbursts, rarely gave straight answers, and used the same phrases repeatedly.[33] The jurors said she would 'stare down at them' and snap her fingers at them.[38] Janet Arvizo described Neverland as 'all about booze, pornography, and sex with boys.'[39] The defense sought to portray Janet as untrustworthy, with a history of perjury and fraud. She admitted to having lied under oath in an earlier lawsuit.[29] The prosecution planned to have an expert on domestic violence testify that she may have lied because she had been beaten by her ex-husband, but the judge did not allow it, saying it would be irrelevant.[29] The defense also presented evidence of Janet having committed welfare fraud, for which she was later convicted.[40] Witnesses for the defense[edit]According to Michael Jackson's defense attorney Susan Yu, over 500 witnesses were prepared in the case.[41] Macaulay Culkin[edit]
Former child star Macaulay Culkin (pictured in 1991) testified that he had shared a bed with Jackson but had never been abused.
Former child star Macaulay Culkin testified that he had shared a bed with Jackson on a dozen or more times between the ages of 9 and 14, but had never been molested and had never seen Jackson act improperly. He said that his parents had known he was in Jackson's bedroom and 'never saw it as an issue'.[42] He described shock at hearing the allegations that Jackson had molested him, and dismissed them as 'absolutely ridiculous'.[42] Culkin said they had bonded over their shared experience of child stardom.[42] Wade Robson[edit]Prosecutors portrayed Wade Robson as one of the victims.[43] Robson testified as Jackson's first defense witness that he had slept in Jackson's bedroom several times but had never been molested, despite the claims of some witnesses.[44] Robson recalled his first visit at Neverland Ranch in 1989 and had slept in the singer's bedroom on all but three or four of his 20 or so visits. He said they played video games, watched movies, talked and sometimes had pillow fights.[45] When attorney Tom Mesereau asked, 'Did Mr. Jackson ever touch you in a sexual way,' Robson replied, 'No, never.' Prosecutor Ron Zonen responded in cross-examination, 'What you're really telling us is that nothing ever happened while you were awake.' Robson reaffirmed, 'I'm telling you nothing ever happened.' Robson also rejected a witness's claim to have seen Jackson and Robson shower together.[46] Years after the trial, Robson claimed to have been molested by Jackson over a seven-year period. (See Further allegations below.) Brett Barnes[edit]Barnes first met Jackson at the age of five when Jackson went to Australia during one of his tours. He shared a bedroom with the singer at least 10 times but denied any impropriety. Barnes was aware of the prosecutor's witness testimonies claiming they had seen Jackson touch him inappropriately. In response, Barnes said, 'I'm very mad about it. It's not true and they put my name through the dirt. I'm really not happy about it.'[47] Barnes continues to deny any molestation from the singer.[48] George Lopez[edit]Comedian George Lopez testified that he had given the Arvizo family money when Gavin was fighting cancer, but came to believe that Gavin's father was more interested in money than helping his son. Lopez cut ties with the family after the father became more demanding. Lopez also said that the father had accused him of stealing $300 from Gavin's wallet. When the father asked what he was supposed to tell his son, Lopez testified that he responded: 'Tell him his fatherâs an extortionist.'[49] Chris Tucker[edit]Comedian Chris Tucker claimed he had felt sorry for the Arvizos and bought them gifts and given them money. He felt the Arvizos expected too much, calling him their 'brother' and taking advantage of him. He testified that he had warned Jackson about the family, whom he called 'cunning'.[50] Verdict[edit]The jury deliberated for about 32 hours over seven days.[51] On the initial vote, nine jurors voted to acquit Jackson, while three voted that he was guilty.[52] On June 13, 2005, they returned a verdict of not guilty on all charges.[51] Years later, one juror said his 'gut feeling' was that Jackson had molested children, but supported the not-guilty decision as he felt that the prosecution had not proved this beyond reasonable doubt.[51] Sneddon said the jury had been blinded by the 'celebrity factor'.[30] Legal commentator Nancy Grace also blamed Jackson's celebrity, but also felt that Janet Arvizo's testimony had been the 'weak link', saying: 'Apparently the defense overwhelmed them with the cross-examining of the mother. I think it boils down to that, plain and simple.'[30] Media coverage[edit]
A Jackson fan
The trial attracted international media attention,[30] and several commentators described it as a media circus.[53][54][55] According to Forbes, 'no allegations have been more publicly scrutinized than those against Michael Jackson'.[12] When the news of the raid on Jackson's home broke, many channels switched to 24-hour rolling coverage.[30]CBS, NBC, ABC and VH1 rushed out television specials while the investigation and trial were still in their early stages.[30] Daily Variety described the case as a 'godsend' for media outlets, 'particularly cable news channels and local stations looking to pump up Nielsen numbers in the final week of the all-important November sweeps'.[30] Viewing figures for Access Hollywood rose 10%, Celebrity Justice 8%, and Entertainment Tonight and Extra achieved season-best audience numbers.[30]Court TV reported a 150% increase in subscriptions.[54] The Guardian described 'row upon row of TV cameras camped outside [the courthouse] like an occupying army'.[22] According to Fox News reporter Aphrodite Jones, 2,200 members of the media attended the trial.[52] Judge Rodney Melville had to instruct the excitable reporters to 'restrain themselves'.[30] Jones said that, as there were no cameras in the courtroom, the media was able to cherry pick which elements to report, creating a biased presentation.[52] The networks E! and Sky TV collaborated to produce re-enactments of highlights from the trial, which were broadcast daily. The re-enactment used look-alike actors, with impersonator Edward Moss portraying Jackson.[56][57] Tabloid newspapers such as The Sun and the New York Daily News ran sensational stories describing Jackson as a 'sicko' or 'freak'.[30] Many commentators, including lawyers Robert Shapiro (who had once represented the Chandler family) and Wendy Murphy, appeared on news outlets confidently predicting a guilty verdict.[30] Jones said: 'I went into that trial 1,000 percent convinced this man molested children his whole life .. The media pressure was such that there was a desire for them to have a guilty verdict, and when they didnât, it was like, 'how dare you find Michael Jackson not guilty?'[52] In 2010, the British journalist Charles Thomson wrote an article for The Huffington Post in which he described the trial as 'one of the most shameful episodes in journalistic history'.[30] He described the media coverage as 'out of control .. the sheer amount of propaganda, bias, distortion and misinformation is almost beyond comprehension.'[30] In the same journal, Luka Neskovic wrote that the trial 'displayed media at their worst. Sensationalism, exclusivity, negativity, excentricism, chaos, and hysteria were some of the features.'[58] For example, according to Neskovic, when pornography was found in Jackson's home, many media outlets misreported it as child pornography.[58] Neskovic observed that the media was more interested in reporting the prosecution than the defense, and that, for example, the Hollywood Reporter chose not to report two weeks of the defense case.[58] Mesereau, Jackson's lawyer, told Neskovic: 'It was horrible. I learned very quickly that the media was the enemy, that the media had an agenda, and their goal was not justice, it was not fairness, it was not truth.'[58] Aftermath[edit]After the trial, Jackson's lead lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, announced that he had told Jackson to stop having boys sleep in his bed: 'He's not going to do that any more,' he said.[59] Jackson moved to the Persian Gulf island country of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.[60] According to Jackson's brother Jermaine, unbeknownst to Jackson, the family had intended to send him to Bahrain had he been convicted.[61] Jackson then lived in Ireland.[2] He never returned to Neverland Ranch, saying it had been despoiled by police searches.[2] In June 2009, he died from cardiac arrest while on several prescription medications.[2] In 2011, Universal Pictures released a documentary directed by David Gest, Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon, arguing that Jackson was innocent.[62] In 2017, the documentary series The Jury Speaks (2017) covered the trial with four members of the jury.[52] Some reported receiving anonymous threats, and one said someone had loosened the wheels on her car.[52] All said they would acquit Jackson again, even in the wake of later allegations.[52] One juror said: 'It was pretty obvious that there were ulterior motives on behalf of the family .. there wasn't a shred of evidence that was able to show us or give us any doubt in voting not guilty.'[38] Further allegations[edit]In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson, who had testified in the trial that Jackson had not molested him, filed a $1.5 billion dollar civil lawsuit against Jackson's estate,[12] claiming Jackson had molested him over seven years when he was a child.[44] In May 2015, Judge Mitchell Beckloff dismissed the lawsuit, saying Robsonâs claim was 'untimely and should be dismissed.'[44] In 2013, another man who had spent time with Jackson as a child, James Safechuck, filed suit with the same lawyer as Robson. Safechuck claimed he realized he had been abused when he heard Robson's allegations.[12] He alleged that he had been sexually abused by Jackson over 100 times in a four-year period, and had been 'brainwashed' into believing the incidents were 'acts of love'.[63] The lawsuit was dismissed by a probate court in 2017.[why?][12] Robson and Safechuck's allegations are the focus of a 2019 documentary film, Leaving Neverland.[64] References[edit]Citations[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trial_of_Michael_Jackson&oldid=902434686'
In mid-1993, dentist Evan Chandler accused American singer Michael Jackson of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, Jordan Neil 'Jordy' Chandler. The relationship between Jackson and Jordan had begun in May 1992. Chandler initially encouraged the friendship.[1] The friendship became well known as the tabloid media reported that Jackson had become a member of the Chandler family. In 1993, Chandler confronted his ex-wife June, who had custody of Jordan, with suspicions that their son had been in an inappropriate relationship with Jackson, but June dismissed his worries.[2][3] Chandler threatened to go public with the evidence he claimed to have.[3] Jackson asked his lawyer, Brucklan Marshall, to intervene.[2] On July 15, Mathis Abrams, a psychologist, sent Chandler's attorney Barry Rothman a letter stating there was 'reasonable suspicion' of sexual abuse. He wrote that if there was a child abuse claim, he would be required by law to contact the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services.[4] On August 4, Chandler and Jordan met with Jackson and Anthony Pellicano, Jackson's private investigator, and Evan Chandler read out Abrams' letter. He then opened negotiations to resolve the issue with a financial settlement.[5][6] Chandler and Rothman had rejected a $350,000 offer from Jackson. On August 16, Jackson's attorney notified Rothman that he would file papers to force Evan Chandler to return Jordan to allow him to accompany Jackson on his Dangerous World Tour. On the day Jackson began the third leg of his tour, news of the allegations broke to the public and received worldwide media attention. Jackson cancelled the remainder of the tour due to health problems arising from the scandal. In January 1994, Jackson reached a financial settlement for $23 million with the Chandlers, and in September a criminal investigation was closed. The allegations affected his public image and commercial standing, and several endorsement deals were canceled, including Jackson's decade-long Pepsi endorsement. Similar allegations were made by other parties in the following decades, leading to a trial in which Jackson was found not guilty. In November 2009, five months after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler committed suicide in his apartment in Jersey City.[7]
Allegations
Jackson's Neverland Ranch home, where the sexual abuse was alleged to have taken place
Jackson became friends with Jordan Chandler and his family after a meeting in May 1992, as Jordan was a fan of Jackson.[8] Their friendship became so close that the National Enquirer ran a featured story with the title 'Michael's New Adopted Family'. The story implied that Jackson had 'stolen' the boy from his estranged father, Evan Chandler, a dentist. Chandler was jealous over Jackson's influence on his son.[9] Jackson invited Jordan, his stepsister and his mother to visit his Neverland Ranch on the weekends. They would also take trips to Las Vegas and Florida.[8] These trips interfered with Jordan's scheduled visits with his father, with Jordan preferring to visit Neverland Ranch.[10] By mid-1993, reports surfaced that Jackson had children sleep in his bed with him at Neverland, which attracted media scrutiny.[11][12] In May 1993, when Jackson and Jordan stayed with Chandler, Chandler urged Jackson to spend more time with his son, and suggested that Jackson build an addition to the house so that Jackson could stay there.[1] After the zoning department said this could not be built, Chandler suggested that Jackson build him a new home.[1] That month, Jordan and June flew with Jackson to Monaco for the World Music Awards.[1][10] According to June's lawyer, Michael Freeman, 'Evan began to get jealous of the involvement and felt left out.'[1] Upon their return, Chandler was pleased with a five-day visit from Jackson, during which Jackson slept in a room with Jordan and his stepbrother.[1] Chandler said this is when he became suspicious of sexual misconduct by Jackson, although he said that Jackson and Jordan were clothed when he saw them in bed together, and has never claimed to have witnessed sexual misconduct.[13] On July 2, 1993, in a private telephone conversation, Chandler â who was unknowingly being recorded by Anthony Pellicano, Jackson's private investigator â said: There was no reason why [Jackson] had to stop calling me .. I picked the nastiest son of a bitch I could find [Chandler's lawyer Barry Rothman], all he wants to do is get this out in the public as fast as he can, as big as he can and humiliate as many people as he can. He's nasty, he's mean, he's smart and he's hungry for publicity. Everything's going to a certain plan that isn't just mine. Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. I've given him full authority to do that. Jackson is an evil guy, he is worse than that and I have the evidence to prove it. If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever .. Michael's career will be over.[14] In the same conversation, when asked how this would affect his son, Chandler replied: That's irrelevant to me .. It will be a massacre if I don't get what I want. It's going to be bigger than all us put together .. This man [Jackson] is going to be humiliated beyond belief .. He will not sell one more record.[14] The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson's defense against the allegations made against him. Jackson and his supporters argued that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from him.[14] In October 1994, Mary A. Fischer of GQ magazine reported it was Chandler who initially accused Jackson of molesting his son, before he demanded a screenwriting deal from Jackson instead of going to the police.[15][16] Use of sedativesAccording to Taraborrelli, Chandler was forced to admit that he had used the controversial sedative sodium amytal when he extracted a tooth from Jordan in early August 1993.[17] Sodium amytal is a barbiturate that puts people in a hypnotic state when injected intravenously. Studies done in 1952 demonstrated that it enabled false memories to be implanted.[5] Dr. Phillip Resnick, a Cleveland psychiatrist,[18] said it was 'a psychiatric medication' and, 'People will say things under sodium amytal that are blatantly untrue'.[5] In May 1994, in Napa County, California, Gary Ramona won a lawsuit against his daughter's therapist and the psychiatrist who had given her sodium amytal.[5][19] The psychiatrist claimed the drug helped Ramona's daughter remember specific details of molestation by Ramona, but a court brief written by Martin Orne, a University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist who pioneered research of hypnosis and sodium amytal, stated that the drug is 'not useful in ascertaining 'truth' . . . The patient becomes sensitive and receptive to suggestions due to the context and to the comments of the interviewers.'[19] This was the first successful legal challenge to the 'repressed memory phenomenon'.[5] Dr. Kenneth Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist, said: 'It's absolutely a psychiatric drug .. I would never want to use a drug that tampers with a person's unconscious unless there was no other drug available. And I would not use it without resuscitating equipment, in case of allergic reaction, and only with an M.D. anesthesiologist present.'[5] According to Dr. John Yagiela, coordinator of the anesthesia and pain control department of the UCLA School of Dentistry, 'It's unusual for it to be used [for pulling a tooth]' and 'better, safer alternatives are available.'[5] On May 3, 1994, KCBS-TV reported that Chandler claimed the drug was used for tooth extraction and that Jordan was under the influence of the drug when the controversy broke.[5] Mark Torbiner, the dental anesthesiologist who administered the drug, told GQ that if sodium amytal was used, 'it was for dental purposes'.[5] According to Diane Dimond of the tabloid TV program Hard Copy, Torbiner's records show that Robinul and Vistarol were administered instead of sodium amytal.[20] The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating Torbiner's administration of drugs during house calls, where he mostly gave patients morphine and Demerol.[5] His credentials with the Board of Dental Examiners indicated that he was restricted by law to administering drugs solely for dental-related procedures, but he had not adhered to those restrictions.[21] For instance, he had given general anesthetic to Barry Rothman during hair-transplant procedures.[21] Torbiner had introduced Chandler and Rothman in 1991, when Rothman needed dental work.[5] NegotiationsOver the next couple of months, the parties of Jackson and Chandler engaged in unsuccessful out-of-court negotiations. Chandler and his legal team asked for $20 million, or threatened to take the dispute to a criminal court.[6] Jackson refused, saying, 'No way in hell'. A few weeks later, Jackson's legal team gave a counter-offer of $1 million, which was declined by Chandler.[6] Pellicano said he made the offers in an attempt to catch Chandler's negotiating and recorded one of the telephone calls to Rothman to demonstrate this.[22] Chandler lowered his request to $15 million. Jackson refused and lowered his offer to $350,000, which Chandler refused. With both sides unable to reach an agreement, Chandler decided to take the matter to court.[6][23] On August 17, 1993, Chandler took Jordan to a psychiatrist, Dr. Mathis Abrams. Over a three-hour session with Abrams, Jordan said he had had a sexual relationship with Jackson that went on for several months, and which included kissing, masturbation and oral sex. He repeated these allegations to police and gave a detailed description of what he alleged was Jackson's penis.[6][24][25] Allegations made public and investigationOn August 18, the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. The same day, June told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son.[12][26] On August 21, a search warrant was issued, allowing police to search Neverland Ranch. Police questioned 30 children who were friends of Jackson, who all stated that Jackson was not a child molester.[11][26] A police officer involved in the investigation told the Los Angeles Times that no evidence (medical, photographic or video) could be found that would support a criminal filing.[26] Gary Hearne, Jackson's chauffeur, testified in his deposition to driving Jackson to Jordan Chandler's house at night, and collecting Jackson in the morning for a period of about 30 days.[27] On the day the allegations were made public, August 24, Jackson began the third leg of his Dangerous World Tour, in Bangkok. That same day, Pellicano held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort $20 million from the singer. He did not mention that Jackson had made several counter-offers.[11][26] On August 25, Jackson's young friends Brett Barnes and Wade Robson held a press conference in which they stated that they had slept in the same bed as Jackson, but nothing sexual in nature had occurred.[28][29]Jackson's family held another press conference, saying it was their 'unequivocal belief' that Michael was a victim of an attempt to take advantage of his fame and wealth.[28][29] On August 26, Jackson's promoters publicly released an audiotape of him apologizing to his fans for cancelling his second show in two days.[30] On August 31, Gloria Allred held a press conference stating that she had been retained on behalf of Jackson's alleged victim, and implied a civil suit against Jackson would be made.[31] Soon afterwards, the Chandlers decided to hire attorney Larry Feldman and part ways with Allred.[23][unreliable source] The police also began an investigation into Chandler, finding that he was $68,400 behind in his child support payments, despite being well-paid as a dentist.[8] On November 8, police searched the Jackson family home, Hayvenhurst, but found nothing of importance.[11][32] They increased their efforts after no supporting evidence was found, and after questioning almost 30 children and their families, all of whom said Jackson had done nothing wrong.[33][34] Officers flew to the Philippines to interview two ex-housekeepers who had sold a molestation story to the tabloids but decided it lacked credibility.[33] Several parents also complained of aggressive investigative techniques by the police; for example, they claimed the police frightened their children with lies such as 'we have nude photos of you',[35][33] and told parents their children had been molested even though their children had denied it.[33] According to internal reports from the LA County DCFS at the time, Chandler's story remained largely consistent but dates, places, times and some details were inconsistent.[36] According to reports, the DCFS had investigated Jackson beginning in August 1993 with the Chandler allegation and again in 2003. The DCFS report was leaked to the press in 1993. Jackson's attorney and private investigator claimed the allegations were part of an extortion attempt, but the father told friends the reports about his comments were untrue.[37][38] On October 6, 1993, Jordan Chandler underwent a psychiatric interview with Dr. Richard Gardner in New York. Dr. Gardner was considered an authority on false child abuse claims. Jordan gave his account of what allegedly happened between him and Jackson in May 1993, during a trip to Monaco.[39] On December 2, 1993, attorney Charles Mathews held a press conference about his clients allegedly being threatened and harassed by Anthony Pellicano's machinations. Mathews was representing Jackson's former security guards in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed on November 22. The lawsuit alleged wrongful termination due to 'firsthand personal knowledge of many of [Michael Jackson's] nighttime visits with young boys.'[40] On December 28, 1993, Jordan Chandler submitted his official child abuse declaration. He described how Jackson allegedly evolved his physical contact with him: 'The first step was simply Michael Jackson hugging me. The next..a brief kiss on the cheek.' Chandler also alleged tongue kissing, nipple stimulation, and masturbation â stating that Jackson would cry if Chandler objected to receiving these acts.[41] Allegation by La Toya JacksonOn December 8, 1993, Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson, who had been estranged from the family and not seen him for several years, claimed that Jackson was a pedophile.[42][43]She further claimed that she had seen checks made out to different boys' families and that Jackson's own childhood physical abuse had turned him into an abuser. She and her then-husband Jack Gordon also said that Jackson had tried to kidnap and kill her.[44][45] On December 9, La Toya Jackson repeated her suspicions to Katie Couric on Today: 'I do know he'd have boys over all the time and they'd stay in his room for days. Then they would come out..there'd be another boy and he'd bring someone else but never two at a time.'[46][47][41] La Toya claimed to have proof of Jackson's pedophilia and offered to disclose it for $500,000. A bidding war between US and UK tabloids began, but fell through when, as J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote, 'she didn't have much to offer, after all.' The rest of the family disowned her, and in later years she insisted she had been forced to make the allegations by Gordon for financial gain. Just prior to making the allegations, her husband had been arrested for assaulting her.[48] By the turn of the millennium Jackson had forgiven his sister.[42] La Toya Jackson, on repeated occasions, recanted all of her allegations against her brother, explaining she had been forced by her late husband, Jack Gordon, to make such statements.[49][50] In 2009, she recanted her 1993 statements to Barbara Walters, saying that her brother was not a pedophile and never had any improper relationship with a child.[51] Lisa Marie PresleyJackson met Lisa Marie Presley around May 26, 1974, during a Jackson 5 engagement in Lake Tahoe. Her father, Elvis Presley, was closing a two week engagement at the Sahara Tahoe while the Jackson 5 were just about to begin one.[28] In November 1992, Jackson was reconnected with Presley through a mutual friend, and they talked almost every day by telephone.[52] As the abuse accusations became public, he became dependent on Presley for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health.[53] She explained, 'I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it.'[54] She described him in one call as high, incoherent and delusional.[53] He proposed to her over the phone in late 1993, saying, 'If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?'[53] They divorced less than two years later.[55] Jackson's healthJackson began taking painkillers, Valium, Xanax and Ativan to deal with the stress of the allegations.[53] Within a few months of the allegations becoming news, he had lost approximately 10 pounds and stopped eating.[56] According to Jackson, he had a tendency to stop eating when 'really upset or hurt' and his friend Elizabeth Taylor had to make him eat: 'She took the spoon and would put it into my mouth.'[57] He said that he eventually became unconscious and had to be fed intravenously.[57] In a court deposition unrelated to the alleged child abuse,[clarification needed][when?] Jackson appeared drowsy, lacked concentration and slurred while speaking. He said he could not remember the dates of his album releases or the names of people he had worked with, and took several minutes to name some of his recent albums.[58] His health had deteriorated such that he canceled the remainder of his tour and flew with Taylor and her husband to London. When Jackson arrived at the airport, he had to be held up. He was rushed to the home of Elton John's manager and afterwards to a clinic.[32][59] When he was searched for drugs on entry, 18 vials of medicine were found in a suitcase. Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic, and was put on a Valium IV to wean him from painkillers.[12][32][59] His spokesperson told reporters that Jackson was 'barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level'.[59] While in the clinic, he took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.[32][59] Strip searchIn December 1993, Jackson was served with a warrant for a strip search, as police wanted to verify Jordan Chandler's description of Jackson's private anatomy.[42] The order stated that officers were to examine, photograph and videotape Jackson's entire body, 'including his penis, anus, hips, [and] buttocks'.[42][60][61] The police were looking for discoloration or any other signs of vitiligo that Jordan had spoken about, or any other skin disorder. Refusal to comply would be used in court as an indication of guilt.[60] The search took place on December 20, 1993, at Neverland Ranch. Those present for the prosecution were District Attorney Tom Sneddon, a detective, a photographer, and a doctor. Those present on behalf of Jackson were his two attorneys, a physician, a detective, a bodyguard and a photographer.[42] The attorneys and Sneddon agreed to leave the room when the examination took place. At Jackson's insistence, the prosecution detective also left. In an emotional state, Jackson stood on a platform in the middle of the room and disrobed. The search lasted for approximately 25 minutes. He was never touched.[42] Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. Reports vary on whether the photographs of Jackson corroborated Jordan's allegations. Reuters reported that an unidentified source informed them on January 27, 1994, that 'photos of Michael Jackson's genitalia do not match description given by the boy',[62][63] which was reported in USA Today on January 28.[64][65] However, according to child sexual abuse consultant Bill Dworin, one of the lead detectives on the case, Jordan's description comported with the photos taken of Jackson's genitalia.[66] The DA and the sheriff's photographer stated that the description was accurate', but the jurors felt that the photos did not match the description.[67][68] Jackson's mother Katherine Jackson was called to testify in front of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury in the spring of 1994, investigators sought information from her as to whether her son had altered the appearance of his genitalia.[69] Larry Feldman, the attorney for the Chandlers at that time filed a motion in court, demanding the photographs of Jackson's genitals and buttocks be barred from the civil trial. The motion also stated that the copies of the photograph be handed over to them and wanting Jackson to be stripped searched for the second time.[70] Jordan claimed that Jackson was circumcised.[71] However, Jackson's autopsy report showed that he had not been circumcised and his foreskin appeared intact, with no signs of surgical restoration.[72] On February 10, 1993,[73] Jackson had revealed in a televised interview that he had vitiligo, a skin disorder that destroys skin pigmentation and creates blotches, and that he used make-up to even out his skin.[74] The interview was watched by 90 million, and after it aired, expert information on vitiligo was widely shared in the media.[74] According to private investigator Anthony Pellicano, who questioned Jordan in July 1993 after hearing Evan's taped phone call, Jordan denied that he ever saw Jackson's body but said he did lift his shirt once to show him the blotches on his skin.[6] Investigators made a probe into Jackson's history, including family interviews, to see if he had undergone procedures to alter his body's appearance.[75] Jackson's responseOn December 22 1993, Jackson responded to events for the first time via satellite from Neverland Ranch: As you may already know, after my tour ended I remained out of the country undergoing treatment for a dependency on pain medication .. There have been many disgusting statements made recently concerning allegations of improper conduct on my part. These statements about me are totally false .. I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the massâmatter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions. I ask all of you to wait and hear the truth before you label or condemn me. Don't treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent. I have been forced to submit to a dehumanizing and humiliating examination .. It was the most humiliating ordeal of my life, one that no person should ever have to suffer .. But if this is what I have to endure to prove my innocence, my complete innocence, so be it.[11][12] A poll at the time, conducted by A Current Affair, found that nearly 75 percent of Americans believed Jackson was telling the truth.[76] Media reactionMost of the information available on the allegations was released (officially or unofficially) by the prosecution and unchallenged by Jackson.[16] Jackson was largely portrayed as guilty by the media,[16] which used sensational headlines implying guilt[28] when the content itself did not support the headline,[26] purchased stories of his alleged criminal activity[77] leaked material from the police investigation,[8] and deliberately used unflattering photographs.[28] Two weeks after the allegations were reported, the headline 'Michael Jackson: A Curtain Closes' reflected the attitude of most tabloid media.[78] The New York Post ran the headline 'Peter Pan or pervert'.[28] In a piece for Hard Copy, Dimondâa journalist who spent the next fifteen years trying to prove Jackson was a pedophileâran a story stating it had acquired 'new documents in the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson, and they are chilling; they contain the name of child movie actor Macaulay Culkin'. In fact, the document stated that Culkin denied being abused by Jackson.[26] Two tabloid media outlets bought confidential leaked documents from the LAPD for $20,000.[8] A number of Jackson's former employeesâmost of whom had worked at Neverlandâsold stories which alleged prior sexual misconduct on Jackson's part, instead of reporting their claims to police. One couple asked for $100,000, claiming that Jackson had sexually caressed Culkin. For a fee of $500,000, they would also allege that Jackson put his hands down Culkin's pants. Culkin strongly denied the allegation, and did so again in court during Jackson's 2005 trial.[77] A former security guard made various allegations about Jackson, saying he was fired because he 'knew too much',[79] and alleged that he was ordered by Jackson to destroy a photo of a naked boy. Instead of reporting this to police, he sold the story to Hard Copy for $150,000.[79] Afterwards, Jackson's maid, Branca Francia, alleged that she 'quit in disgust' after seeing Jackson in a shower with a child, but did not inform the police. It emerged that Francia had been fired in 1991, but nevertheless sold her story to Hard Copy for $20,000.[79] When Jackson left the US to go into drug rehabilitation, the Daily Mirror (UK) held a 'Spot the Jacko' contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where he would appear next.[32] A Daily Express headline read 'Drug treatment star faces life on the run', while a News of the World headline said Jackson was a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable.[32]Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.[80] Civil lawsuitOn September 14, 1993, Jordan Chandler and his parents filed a civil lawsuit against Jackson.[81] The lawsuit claimed that Jackson had committed sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.[82] In late 1993, district attorneys in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties convened grand juries to assess whether criminal charges should be filed.[83] By 1994, prosecution departments in California had spent $2 million and the grand juries had questioned 200 witnesses, but Jordan's allegations could not be corroborated.[84]Play resident evil 2 pc. On January 4, 1994, Chandler's attorney, Larry Feldman, filed a motion for the photos from Jackson's strip search, saying Jackson's attorneys and the L.A. district attorney had refused to give him copies.[85] A few weeks later, Feldman petitioned the court for access to Jackson's finances, arguing that Jackson's wealth would give him an unfair advantage in court. One adviser to Jackson said: 'You can take pictures of Michael's dick and he's not gonna like it, but once you start trying to figure out how much money he has, that's where he stops playing around.'[84] Jackson and his lawyers filed a motion for Superior Court Judge David M. Rothman to postpone the civil case until the criminal investigation concluded.[35] It is legal to postpone a civil lawsuit past the criminal statute of limitations as a lawsuit can still be filed past that date.[86] Additionally, the constitutional right to a speedy trial only applies to criminal cases, not civil cases.[87] Feldman filed a counter-motion, saying the delay would hurt Jordan's chances for recovery and make it more difficult to gather evidence.[35] On November 23, Judge Rothman accepted Feldman's motion and set March 21, 1994, as the start date for the civil trial.[88] Rothman ordered Jackson's deposition scheduled before the end of January 1994, but said he might reconsider if Jackson was indicted on criminal charges.[89] Jackson agreed to be deposed on January 18.[89] His attorneys said he was eager to testify, but also said they might oppose the deposition if criminal charges were filed or were still under consideration on his deposition date.[89] They said if charges were filed, they would want the criminal trial to go first.[89] However, when authorities notified Jackson's lawyers that they expected their investigation to continue at least through February, Jackson's team failed to win a delay of the civil case.[90] Jackson's lawyers also lost a motion to prevent Feldman from turning over information (e.g. from the civil deposition) to prosecutors pursuing possible criminal charges.[90] The concerns about a civil trial during an ongoing criminal investigation, and about the prosecutor's access to the plaintiff's information in the civil trial, stemmed from Jackson's Fifth Amendment rights.[87] As two grand juries had deemed there was insufficient evidence for charges as of January 1,[84] the prosecution might have been able to form the elements of a criminal case around the defense strategy in the civil trial, creating a situation akin to double jeopardy.[91][92] On January 24, 1994, prosecutors announced that they would not bring charges against Chandler for attempted extortion, as Jackson's camp had been slow to report the extortion claim to the police and had tried to negotiate a settlement with Chandler for several weeks.[93] Evan had made his demand for a financial settlement on August 4, 1993, and the Jackson camp filed extortion charges against Evan and his attorney, Rothman, in late August 1993.[33] After tape recordings supporting the extortion claim were released to the media on August 30,[94] a lawyer for Jackson said they had not gone to the police earlier because 'It was our hope that this would all go away. We tried to keep it as much in-house as we could.'[95] In the extortion investigation, a search warrant was never sought to search the homes and offices of Chandler and Rothman, and no grand jury convened when both men refused police interviews.[83] In contrast, the police had searched Jackson's residences solely based on Jordan's allegations,[34][96] and taken lengths to interview or intimidate witnesses.[35][33] SettlementWhile Jackson sought medical help for his faltering health, his legal team and friends, such as Presley and Taylor, took control of his defense and finances.[56] Jackson's legal team would meet three times a week at Taylor's home to discuss the case.[56] Eventually, Presley, Taylor, and Jackson's team agreed that Jackson was too sick to endure a lengthy trial, and that he should settle out of court.[59] The lawsuit was settled on January 25, 1994,[97] with $15,331,250 to be held in a trust fund for Jordan,[98] $1.5 million for each of his parents, and $5 million for the family's lawyer, for a total of approximately $23 million.[99] Another source showed Feldman was to receive $3 million based on a September 1993 retainer, for a total of $21 million.[100] According to a motion passed to Judge Melville in 2004, it was Chandler who initiated the settlement with Jackson's insurer.[101] On January 29, 1994, the Associated Press reported that Jackson had requested his insurance company (Transamerica Insurance Group) financially contribute to the settlement. A lawyer for TIG, Jordan Harriman, had indeed made a 'one-time only' offer to Jackson on January 13 to resolve his claim. Jackson refused that offer, but further negotiations followed. Russ Wardrip, a TIG claims analyst, had sent a January 13 registered letter to Jackson's lawyer, Howard Weitzman:[102][103] ..acts of sexual activity do not constitute [accidental] bodily injury. Further, acts of sexual activity, especially those against a minor, are inherently intentional, wrongful and harmful. Coverage for such acts is precluded by [the] California Insurance Code. According to Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau, Jackson's insurance company 'negotiated and paid the settlement, over the protests of Mr. Jackson and his personal legal counsel' and was 'the source of the settlement amounts', as noted in a 2005 memorandum in People v. Jackson.[104] The memorandum also noted that 'an insurance carrier has the right to settle claims covered by insurance where it decides settlement is expedient and the insured may not interfere with nor prevent such settlements', as established by a number of precedents in California.[104] Defeating the right would involve convincing a court with the power to overrule the precedent that the earlier decision was either wrongly decided or more often, 'clearly' wrong (depending on the criteria of the court)[105] or the court must be convinced to distinguish the case.[106] That is, to make the ruling narrower than that in the precedent due to some difference in facts between the current and precedent case while supporting the result reached in the earlier case.[106] In 2004, Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau said: 'People who intended to earn millions of dollars from [Jackson's] record and music promotions did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits. Michael Jackson now regrets making these payments. These settlements were entered into with one primary condition â that condition was that Mr. Jackson never admitted any wrongdoing. Mr. Jackson always denied doing anything wrong .. Mr. Jackson now realizes the advice he received was wrong.'[107] Jackson explained why he had settled: 'I wanted to go on with my life. Too many people had already been hurt. I want to make records. I want to sing. I want to perform again .. It's my talent. My hard work. My life. My decision.'[84] He also wanted to avoid a 'media circus'.[108] Although some perceived the settlement as an admission of guilt, the settlement agreement specifically stated that Jackson admitted no wrongdoing and no liability.[99][109] Legally, a settlement cannot be used as evidence of guilt in future civil and criminal cases.[110] The settlement payment was 'for alleged personal injuries arising out of claims of negligence and not for claims of intentional or wrong acts of sexual molestation.'[100][111] In the settlement, both parties agreed they would not speak about the case details in public but it did not prevent the Chandlers from testifying in a criminal trial or sharing information with authorities in a criminal investigation.[112] The settlement document states there is no admission of wrongdoing on Jackson's part and no admission of molestation or immodesty[112] and that under no circumstances shall any payment be withheld from the complainants, even if they were to testify against Jackson.[112] The Chandlers' lawyer, Larry Feldman, said that 'nobody bought anybody's silence'.[113]Bribery to not testify in a trial is a felony according to California Penal Code 138.[114] Receiving such a bribe is also a felony according to this law.[114] Closure of investigationDistrict Attorney Gil Garcetti said that the settlement did not affect criminal prosecution and that the investigation was ongoing.[115] Jordan Chandler was interviewed after the settlement by detectives seeking evidence of child molestation, but no criminal charges were filed.[116] A Santa Barbara County grand jury disbanded on May 2, 1994 without indicting Jackson, while a Los Angeles County grand jury continued to investigate the sexual abuse allegations.[117][118] The Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994.[119] The police never pressed criminal charges.[108] Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.[84][120] According to the grand juries, the evidence presented by the Santa Barbara police and the LAPD was not convincing enough to indict Jackson or subpoena him,[84][117] even though grand juries can indict the accused purely on hearsay evidence.[121][122] According to a 1994 report by Variety, a source in contact with the grand juries said that none of the witnesses had produced anything to directly implicate Jackson.[88] According to a 1994 report by Showbiz Today, one of the 1994 grand jurors claimed they 'did not hear any damaging testimony' during the hearings.[123] AftermathA week after the lawsuit settlement was announced on January 25, 1994,[124] L.A. District Attorney Gil Garcetti announced that he supported amending a law that prohibits forcing people who say they have been sexually assaulted to testify in criminal proceedings.[125][126] The amendment, introduced into the state assembly the week of February 7, would have immediately allowed Garcetti to compel Jordan to testify.[126] Around the same time, Santa Barbara police interviewed the 13-year-old son of one of Jackson's former maids who had told them her son had spent time with Jackson. After he repeatedly denied being abused, they arranged for him to see a therapist.[125] In a deposition, his mother said she had asked the police about who she could speak to about her concerns about Jackson spending private time with her son. According to the mother, they arranged for her and her son to see separate therapists.[125][126] On April 11, 1994, the grand jury session in Santa Barbara was extended by 90 days to allow Sneddon to gather more evidence. Prosecution sources said they were frustrated in their grand jury probe, failing to find direct evidence of the molestation charges.[127] The final grand jury disbanded without returning an indictment against Jackson.[128] Three years later, Jordan's account of the relationship was detailed in a book by journalist Victor M. Gutierrez. The book was said to be based on a diary Jordan had kept at the time and included details of alleged sexual encounters with Jackson.[11] In 1995, Jackson filed a civil suit against Gutierrez for slander unrelated to the book; the jury found in Jackson's favor, awarding him $2.7 million in damages. However, the judgement does not refute the allegations contained in the book.[129] In 1996, Chandler sued Jackson for around $60 million, claiming Jackson had breached an agreement never to discuss the case. In 1999, a court ruled in Jackson's favor and threw out the lawsuit.[11] ![]() Jordan legally emancipated himself from his parents in 1994, at age 14.[when?][130] In 2006, Jordan accused his father of attacking him with a barbell, choking him and spraying his face with mace. The charges were dropped.[131] On November 5, 2009, fourteen weeks after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler was found dead following an apparent suicide.[132] Music journalist Charles Thomson noted a continued media bias against Jackson after Chandler's suicide. Thomson said he was contacted by a British tabloid to supply information about the 1993 allegations, only to have them replace his carefully researched information with the misinformation he advised them to avoid.[16] According to Thomson, when Jackson's FBI file was released the following month, the media reported that it created the impression of guilt, even though the file supported his innocence.[16] He noted that Gene Simmons' allegations in 2010 about Jackson molesting children received over a hundred times more coverage than his interview with Jackson's long-time guitarist, Jennifer Batten, who rebutted Simmons' claims.[16] Effect on Jackson's careerJackson's commercial appeal and public image declined in the wake of the allegations. The government of Dubai barred him from performing in response to an anonymous pamphlet campaign that attacked him as immoral.[133] Jackson backed out of a deal to create a song and video to tie-in with the film Addams Family Values, returning an estimated $5 million,[134] and a brand of fragrances was canceled because of Jackson's drug problems.[135]PepsiCo also ended their ten-year partnership with him, causing some fans to boycott the company.[58] According to conflicting sources, Jackson agreed to compose music for the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but left the project and went uncredited, possibly due to the allegations.[136] Jackson produced a special show for the premium cable network HBO, For One Night Only, to be recorded in front of a special invited audience at New York City's Beacon Theatre for broadcast in December 1995. The shows were canceled after Jackson collapsed at the theater on December 6 during rehearsals. Jackson was admitted overnight to Beth Israel Medical Center North. The shows were never rescheduled. The following year, Jackson began the HIStory World Tour. Despite the show's success, Jackson's only concerts in the USA were two shows at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.[137] Jackson completed the video once planned for Addams Family Values and released it as Ghosts, with a framing story about an eccentric maestro who entertains children and is pursued by a bigoted local official.[138] Jackson's album HIStory, released shortly after the allegations, 'creates an atmosphere of paranoia,' according to one writer.[139] Its content focuses on the public struggles Jackson went through prior to its production. In the songs 'Scream', 'Tabloid Junkie', and 'You Are Not Alone', Jackson expresses his anger and hurt at the media.[140] In the ballad 'Stranger in Moscow', he laments his 'swift and sudden fall from grace'.[139][140] In 'D.S.', he attacks a character identified as Tom Sneddon, the District Attorney that requested his strip search. He describes the person as a white supremacist who wanted to 'get my ass, dead or alive'. Sneddon said: 'I have not, shall we say, done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot.'[141] Further allegationsOn December 18, 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to commit a child sexual abuse felony against Gavin Arvizo.[142] Jackson denied the allegations. Sneddon again led the prosecution.[143] The People v. Jackson trial began in Santa Maria, California, on January 31, 2005.[144] The judge allowed testimony about past allegations, including the 1993 case, to establish whether the defendant had a propensity to commit certain crimes.[108][145] However, Jordan Chandler had left the country to avoid testifying.[146] Mesereau later said: 'The prosecutors tried to get [Chandler] to show up and he wouldn't. If he had, I had witnesses who were going to come in and say he told them it never happened and that he would never talk to his parents again for what they made him say.'[146] June Chandler testified that she had not spoken to her son in 11 years. During her testimony, she claimed that she could not remember being counter-sued by Jackson and said that she had never heard of her own attorney.[146] However, she said she never witnessed any molestation.[146] Jackson was found not guilty of all charges on June 13, 2005.[146] References
Works cited
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