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Star singer says allegations ?disgusting?
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Star singer says allegations ?disgusting?
Jury selection for Michael Jackson?s child molestation case starts today, with some 750 prospective jurors set to report for duty at the Santa Maria courthouse.The jurors will be summoned by Melville in groups of 150 over three days and will likely come face-to-face with Jackson, who has pleaded innocent to sexually abusing the boy at his Neverland Valley Ranch. Jackson has called recent leaks to the media about his child molestation case ?malicious ... disgusting and false,? and said he expects to be found innocent of the charges.
In a short video appearance on his official Web site, www.mjjsource.com, Jackson rejected accusations that he plied a now 15-year-old boy with alcohol and fondled him.?In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me. Apparently, this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand jury proceeding where neither my lawyers, nor I, ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false,? Jackson said on Sunday.
Grand jury testimony is secret and not publicly released, though often leaked to the media. Dissemination of Jackson?s latest statement had been approved by state Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, who had previously placed a gag order on the case. Strict secrecy has been imposed on the case and any statements made by either party must be approved in advance by the judge.
Opening statements are weeks away, but Jackson?s presence at the courthouse on Monday is expected to draw hundreds of fans and reporters. Melville will try to assemble a pool of possible jurors able to serve for up to six months.Jury pool members will then be given seven-page questionnaires about the case and told to return on February 7 to be questioned individually by Melville, prosecutors and defence attorneys. At that point a final panel of 12 jurors and eight alternates will be chosen.
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