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A spectacle outside, jury selection inside

Pop music icon Michael Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a teenage boy - then 13, now 15 - and plying him with alcohol.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Dressed in a bright white suit and a jewel-trimmed vest and belt, Michael Jackson on Monday stood before the first group of prospective jurors who could decide his fate on charges he molested a teenage cancer patient and plied the boy with alcohol at his Neverland Ranch.

The pop superstar, accompanied by four defense lawyers, stood and smiled as he faced prospective jurors for the start of jury selection in what could become the most sensational celebrity trial the world has ever seen. He greeted the clerk with a handshake at the courthouse in this small coastal city in central California.

Outside, fans from around the world pressed up against a chain-link fence and shouted words of encouragement, holding up signs that read, "Dear God, Please Give Michael Justice" and "France Supports and Loves MJ."

Fans danced and sang a Jackson song attacking the district attorney and booed a woman who held a sign backing the accuser.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, whom Jackson has derided in a song as a "cold man" with a vendetta, did not come to court. A deputy represented the prosecution.

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a teenage boy - then 13, now 15 - and plying him with alcohol.

On Sunday, Jackson issued a court-approved video statement on his Web site, predicting he would be acquitted. His parents also spoke out in his defense Monday, saying the young accuser was after his money.

"I know my son, and this is ridiculous," his mother, Katherine Jackson, said in an interview broadcast on CBS' The Early Show. She said people who believe her son is guilty "don't know him."

Judge Rodney Melville told the first group of 150 prospective jurors that they might have to serve for about six months, but that it was an important duty.

"Most of us have relatives who have fought and died to protect this service," Melville said. "Freedom is not free. Jury duty is part of the cost of freedom."

The first group was predominantly white. About a quarter appeared to be Hispanic. There were only three blacks.

Sixty-six members of the first group asked to be excused, but during questioning by the judge two changed their minds. A woman who said she was eight months pregnant was excused from the case.

Five hundred more prospective jurors were to be processed later Monday and on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those not excused will out questionnaires, and then will be questioned individually by the attorneys. The judge wants 12 jurors in addition to eight alternates.

The small-town feel of the jury pool was apparent during questioning. One woman ran a pet shop, while another was in local real estate. One woman said she could get a medical excuse from her doctor across the street. A few said they have friends who work at Jackson's Neverland ranch.

Prospective jurors were addressed with nine-digit numbers in court.

One woman said she worked at an elementary school where she dealt with "people that need counseling for molestation."

Other prospective jurors said they had to care for sick relatives or had too many job responsibilities. One woman said that at 75, she was "just too old."

"You don't look a day over 60," the judge replied.

The woman said she was willing to serve if she had to, but noted she had "a multitude of illnesses."

When another woman said she had to be home every night to care for her mother, the judge told her that she would be home every night.

"Don't they lock juries up, too?" the prospect asked, inquiring if the judge could guarantee she would get home.

"Oh yeah, I'm going home every night," said Melville, who intends to end each day of trial by 2:30 p.m.

One man said he couldn't serve because his employer wouldn't pay him while he was on jury duty.

"Your employer doesn't pay jury service?" asked Melville.

"He's an attorney, no sir," the man said.

[Last modified January 31, 2005, 17:48:01]