Jackson jurors deliberate for week without verdict

Jurors in Michael Jackson's 'lies innuendo and exaggeration' sex-abuse trial' have completed a full week of deliberations without reaching a verdict, prolonging the culmination of a trial that should free the pop star.

The eight women and four men on the jury have spent 30 hours hashing out the question of Jackson's innocence behind closed doors.

They must meet until they reach verdicts on all 10 criminal counts against the 46-year-old entertainer or become deadlocked, causing a hung jury to be declared.

The jurors were driven off in two white vans under police escort after leaving the central California courthouse from behind a newly erected barricade to keep the crowd at bay.

Several hundred Jackson fans from around the world have kept an increasingly anxious vigil over the past week, and police said they were beefing up security for the verdict.

There are also more than 2,000 journalists from 32 countries accredited to the growing media encampment outside court, making the case one of the largest celebrity trials ever.

While there were about 30 or so deputies around court during the trial, that number has now more than doubled.












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By Just Beat It! 11 June 05

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Jackson waiting for fifth day: Jury
Jurors in pop star Michael Jackson's 'lies innuendo and exaggeration' sex-abuse trial have ended a shortened fifth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Michael Jackson Innocent: Fan Club!!!
They told him don't you ever come around here, don't wanna see your face, you better disappear. The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear, so beat it... just beat it...

JACKSON TRIAL Or Inquisition
"Ye shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall. William J. Wagener does a weekly Libertarian TV show in Santa Maria since October 1, 2000, which is sometimes bicycled around the nation. Libertarians believe in individual freedoms and rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Wagener has been a court "watcher" since 1992 in Santa Maria, and especially of Judge Rodney S. Melville, and his tendency to give Prosecutors leeway, not usually afforded to public defenders, or private defense attorneys.

Jackson waiting for fifth day: Jury

Jurors in pop star Michael Jackson's 'lies innuendo and exaggeration' sex-abuse trial have ended a shortened fifth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

The eight women and four men on the jury have spent 23 hours considering the charges against Jackson.

They put in a short working day of about two-and-a-half-hours because at least one had to attend school graduation ceremonies.

Meanwhile, Jackson has returned to hospital for further treatment on his back.

His spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, says that the 46-year-old entertainer went to Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital for "routine treatment" of back spasms that have pained him throughout the four-month trial.

The singer's black sport utility vehicle, its headlights turned off and his bodyguard at the wheel, raced past reporters and out of the hospital at 12:20am local time.

A black curtain obscured the back seat.

Jackson has made five visits to the hospital in the course of his trial and two since jurors began deliberating.

The verdict should clear him of the abuse charges.

The jury must deliberate until it reaches verdicts on all 10 criminal counts against Jackson or becomes deadlocked and is declared a hung jury by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville.

By Just Beat It! 10 June 05

Related:

JACKSON TRIAL Or Inquisition
"Ye shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall. William J. Wagener does a weekly Libertarian TV show in Santa Maria since October 1, 2000, which is sometimes bicycled around the nation. Libertarians believe in individual freedoms and rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Wagener has been a court "watcher" since 1992 in Santa Maria, and especially of Judge Rodney S. Melville, and his tendency to give Prosecutors leeway, not usually afforded to public defenders, or private defense attorneys.

Michael Jackson Innocent: Fan Club!!!
They told him don't you ever come around here, don't wanna see your face, you better disappear. The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear, so beat it... just beat it...

Ad shames gamblers:that's a shame for pokie owners

An advertising campaign showing a woman leaving her partner because he is a problem gambler has upset poker machine operators, even though it has caused gamblers to flood a helpline.

The television ads are "flat-out disgraceful", according to Penrith Panthers Leagues Club's general manager, John Wilson.

"[Making a link between] quietly playing the poker machines to having no food on the table is a gross exaggeration and a gross distraction to what is a serious problem out there," Mr Wilson said.

But each poker machine has the capacity of earning $72 thousand dollars a year from a problem gamblers family and their communities a spokesperson for Justice Action Mr Pissed And Broke said.

"What is required is more entertainment, live bands, singing and dancing. Perhaps where the whole family can join in and community groups can meet to have some fun without going home pissed and broke." He said

The TV and radio campaign featured the woman taking her children and leaving her partner after discovering she could not pay for groceries because their credit card had been cancelled. The five-month campaign, which ended in March, also included print advertisements suggesting family and financial distress.

The Gaming Minister, Grant McBride, said more than 6000 people called the Government's G-line counselling service during the campaign - 30 per cent more than the year before.

Some callers, most of whom were gambling on poker machines, said they had only called because the ads had convinced them it was time to act, Mr McBride said. One woman called to find out when the ad would next be aired "because my husband needs to see it".

But industry sources said gaming operators disliked the ad and some blamed it for a loss of revenue during the early part of the campaign. Sources said Star City Casino, which funded the ads through the casino levy, was also upset about them - a claim denied by a casino spokesman. He said it always supported ads promoting counselling.

John Thorpe, re-elected president of the Australian Hotels Association on Tuesday, said the ads had caused controversy because experts believed they were the wrong approach to harm-minimisation.

A gambling psychologist, Alex Blaszczynski, from Sydney University, said the TV ad raised awareness but also stigmatised gamblers.

It seemed to give the message that partners should leave problem gamblers, Professor Blaszczynski said. "[This] doesn't seem to be pretty darn sensible therapeutically."

Mr McBride's spokesman rejected the criticism, saying the ads clearly showed a problem gambler, not "an ordinary punter". Mr McBride said he would also review funding for counselling services to ensure the extra demand could be met.

By Shamed And Broke 10 April 03

THE PUBLICAN: One more dollar for the road? Doesn't matter what happens when they get home does it?

THE COMMUNITY: Good will matters if you want to run any business including a pub and club. If pubs and clubs are serving a community people will have good stories and meet regularly to socialise. What you do is what you get. Get off the table WILSON the monies for the beer.

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The Tigers' plan for a super club with 450 poker machines at the SuperDome could create almost 100 new problem gamblers in the five kilometres around the site, according to the Balmain club's application submitted to licensing authorities.