APTN - APTN CLIENTS ONLY
Santa Maria, California - 27 February 2005
1. Wide shot of courthouse
2. Wide shot of camera, trucks and barricades set up near courthouse
3. Wide shot of satellite trucks parked outside courthouse
US POOL - APTN Clients Only
FILE - Santa Maria, California - 25 February 2005
4. Michael Jackson stepping out of car
5. Wide shot of Jackson walking to courthouse, fans yelling "Michael, We love you"
6. Jackson accompanied by aides holding umbrellas, Jackson yells "I love you more" to fans
APTN - APTN CLIENTS ONLY
Santa Maria, California - 27 February 2005
7. Wide shot of tarp being put up around courthouse fence
8. Various shots of worker putting up tarp around courthouse
9. Wide shot of courthouse complex with barricades lining the street
10. Wide pan of Big Red Tours bus sitting across from courthouse
11. Medium pan of bus operator standing on top of second deck
12. Medium shot of Big Red Tours bus
13. Close up of license plate that says "Lon Bus"
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Phil Collins, Tour Bus Operator:
"This whole trial is definitely helping the area as far as Santa Maria, local businesses will be probably feeling the benefits of all the generated interest in this small town and it can only help us all. It''s kind of sad that we are doing it on the back of someone else''s misery but celebrities put themselves in these positions, its kind of the territory they are in."
US POOL - APTN Clients Only
FILE - Santa Maria, California 25 February 2005
15. Jackson passing through metal detector
16. Lead prosecutor Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon arriving at court
Preparations were underway in Santa Maria, California on Sunday for the start of the Michael Jackson child molestation trial.
Prosecution and defence lawyers were to begin outlining their cases to the jury on Monday.
Television crews and city workers were busy in and around the courthouse.
Residents of Santa Maria were bracing themselves for months of media attention from around the world.
Some said they would appreciate the economic boost when hordes of reporters and Jackson fans pack hotels and restaurants, but others said they could live without all the commotion.
Michael Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol, and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.
Jury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but took only five court days, while the selection of the alternates could be completed as early as Sunday, allowing the trial to proceed.
The jury in Michael Jackson''s child molestation trial includes several fans of his music, four parents of young children, a woman whose grandson was convicted of a sexual offence, and a man who visited Jackson''s Neverland ranch as a child.
Drawn from the county where Jackson lives, the four men and eight women range in age from 20 to 79.
The jury seated on Wednesday was primarily white and Hispanic and did not appear to include any of the half-dozen blacks who were in the pool of more than 240 prospects.
Experts said the trial may boil down to the credibility of two people: Jackson and the accuser''s mother.
Both sides have compelling stories to tell.
Prosecutors were to depict a poor family whose stricken son wanted to meet his idol.
They will say that the dream became a nightmare of abuse and imprisonment at Jackson''s Neverland Ranch.
The defence was to describe Jackson as the target of a money-hungry mother, who coached her son to spin stories for profit.
Jackson''s defence will try to show that the boy''s mother has sued others in the past claiming abuse.
