Trial of Michael Jackson
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 County Superior Court in Santa Maria, California. The American pop singer Michael Jackson was charged with molesting Gavin Arvizo, who was 13 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, at his Neverland Ranch estate in Los Olivos, California.
"Michael Jackson trial" redirects here. For the 2012 trial relating to Jackson's death, see California v. Murray.People v. Jackson
The People of the State of California v. Michael Joe Jackson
June 13, 2005
Michael Jackson found not guilty on all 14 counts
- Conspiracy
- Lewd act upon a minor child (4 counts)
- Attempting to commit a lewd act upon a minor child
- Administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony (4 counts)
Jackson had previously been accused of child sexual abuse in 1993; he denied the allegations and settled the accuser's civil lawsuit. In 2003, the documentary Living with Michael Jackson showed Jackson holding hands with Arvizo and defending his practice of giving his bed to children, triggering an investigation. Jackson was indicted on 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 Gavin and his family captive, and conspiring to commit extortion and child abduction.
The trial spanned approximately four months, beginning with jury selection that began on January 31, 2005. Gavin and his brother testified that Jackson had given them alcohol, showed them pornography, masturbated before them and made sexual advances. The defense characterized the witnesses for the prosecution as disgruntled ex-employees or individuals seeking to exploit Jackson for money. Witnesses for the defense included testimony from celebrities including the former child actor Macaulay Culkin and the comedian Chris Tucker. Coverage of the trial was described as a media circus, and some media outlets were quick to portray Jackson as guilty.
Jackson was acquitted on all counts on June 13, 2005. He never returned to Neverland Ranch, and spent the first several months after the trial living abroad in Bahrain and Ireland. In 2013, four years after Jackson's death, one of the defense witnesses, Wade Robson, changed his position and filed a lawsuit, saying he had been abused by Jackson. Jurors of the trial who appeared on The Jury Speaks in 2017 said they still would vote to acquit.
Verdict[edit]
The jury deliberated for about 32 hours over seven days.[81] On the initial vote, nine jurors voted to acquit Jackson, while three voted guilty.[82] On June 13, 2005, they returned a verdict of not guilty on all charges.[81] Jurors found the prosecution's case weak and the timeline of accusations problematic because they had claimed the molestation allegedly occurred after the broadcast of the documentary, when the world's attention was on Jackson and Gavin.[83] Jurors also described Janet's testimony as weak, and found it strange that she snapped her fingers and addressed them directly.[84] Likewise, The New York Times described her testimony as "rambling, incoherent and at times combative". One juror believed that Janet was a scam artist.[83]
In a news conference held after the trial, a juror said, "We expected better evidence, something that was a little more convincing. It just wasn't there."[85] Sneddon suggested that Jackson’s celebrity status and the media had influenced the verdict.[84] The jury foreman, a retired high school counselor, said, "We looked at all the evidence and we looked at Michael Jackson and one of the first things we decided was we had to look at him just as another person and not a celebrity."[83]