Poor Michael - Judge rules that his past instances of child molestation

[Bullwinkle925]

is admissible in court. Here we go now!!

On Edit: "ALLEGED' There, you don't have to tell me! LOL.

[Sannum]

1. oooohhhh....

I hope Michael enjoys Folsom...

[lenidog]

9. Even if he runs out of appeals and finally

does go to jail, they could never in a million years put him in general population. Among inmates there is the idea of an "honorable" crime and child molestation isn't one of them. They are actually considered the lowest of the low. Then add in the fact that he is Michael Jackson and rich his safety and possibly lifespan would be measured in nanoseconds in general population. They would have to keep him in solitary all the time.

[slackmaster]

2. Sounds like possible grounds for an appeal should he be convicted

:shrug:

[Crankie Avalon]

5. I have no idea what he did or didn't do...

...but I'd be very, very, VERY surprised if he ends up being found guilty/in need of appealing.

[unblock]

10. that does indeed seem like it should be inadmissible

ok, i understand psychologically and statistically, victims may be more likely one day to become victimizers.

but, we're not talking about statistics and averages here, we're talking about convicting one particular person. and making it more likely to convict based on a factor that's completely out of the accused's control and not directly relevant to the case at hand seems like it serves no purpose other than to bias the jury.

i would think that this is settled law, and i would be surprised if the judge would make such a basic error; but, as a lay person, i think this is indeed an error, or at least, ought to be.

[AlCzervik]

3. after the Blake verdict i think MJ will be found not guilty

[napi21]

6. I dunno. Sad to say, people hate child molestors more than

wife victimization. Unfortunately, Blake's wife had a very shaded history of being quite a minipulator, and aparently, the prosecution couldn't prove that Blake had even fired a gun.

Jackson isn't doing himself any favors by the way he acts in front of a camera, and there seems to be witnesses, fingerprints, etc against him. The judge allowing prior accusations to come in sure isn't going to help him at all.

[Midnight Rambler]

8. Exactly

MJ likes to go on and on about how it's all a conspiracy, that the media is out to get him... but he makes himself an easy target.

Personally, I don't think he quite gets it. I don't know if he's guilty or not, but I do think the man needs some serious help.

[Minstrel Boy]

4. It wouldn't excuse his own crimes, but it would help explain them.

And it doesn't strike me as a stretch by any means to believe that Jackson is himself a victim.

[lenidog]

11. In a way he already is setting the stage

he is already talking about a conspiracy against him and hinting at (I think Sony Records) because they have joint ownership of the Beatles catalog which is the only thing Michael has of real value anymore.


Now this doesn't excuse his actions if they did it, but in a way I think he is a victim. I personally think the man is mentally ill. Probably has been for several decades and its gotten worse. It never been treated because he is been surounded by people who at best kiss his ass and at worst see him as a meal ticket. The fisrt don't want to upset him by suggesting it and the last don't want to have anything come out that would threaten the flow of cash.

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. Alleged.............. I've stayed out of mj case but.................

it realy annoys me when prosecutors use innuendo to help build their case. Maybe I'm wrong but none of the allegations were proven true therefore why should they be allowed in court but for no other reason than to prejudice the jury?
There are probably tons of allegations against "celebrities" with no other basis than malice.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. Past instances? I did not know there were proven past instances.

Go figure. You learn something new everyday. :shrug:

[AngryAmish]

13. If this evidence comes in depends on the state

This is not my area, but I think in IL if you can prove a "pattern" the evidence of other prior bad acts comes in.

Example: If a guy is accused of robbing a filling station with a samuri sword between the hours of midnight and three a.m., and they have testimony that the same guy did it three times inthe past year, that is pretty good evidence of pattern and practice to let the jury see the evidence. The probative value must outweigh the prejudice.
Especially if there are defense claims that he was too physically weak to lift a samuri sword.

Some states are loose in this respect, others are tighter.

[KurtNYC]

14. Under a CA law it is coming in

The Jackson camp is going to have to argue that ALL of these people are lying.

[RedCloud]

15. prosecutor should go to jail!

An 11 year gotten off six times in a short span (I think the rascal said in under an hour!) by MJ?????
Defies logic. Boy has been shown to be a liar and has the prosecutor's words popping out of his mouth!
Looks like they were hoping for another $20,000,000 pay day.

Also "if past instances IS allowed in court", the singular verb and plural noun are at loggerheads.