SHOTLIST

PLEASE NOTE: SOUND QUALITY AS INCOMING

APTN

1. Michael Jackson and family walking through supporters during recess

2. Fans waiting for the Jackson entourage (MUTE)

3. Jackson pointing to supporters

4. Jackson walking past bus

5. Jackson lawyer Tomas Mesereau Jr. walking toward bus

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox pop, Kevin (no last name given) Jackson supporter:

"I've been a Michael Jackson fan ever since he was on Ed Sullivan back in '74, so that might tell you how old I am, but, I'll still listen to his music twenty years from now."

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lisa Dawn Marble, Jackson supporter:

"Michael is a humanitarian. Michael is very effective at helping people all over the world; individuals and societies. He's extremely inspiring and compassionate. I recognised when I was nine years old that Michael's purpose was to spread understanding and compassion all over the world."

POOL

8. Jackson family leaving courtroom (MUTE)

9. Jackson and family members inside courthouse (MUTE)

10. Jackson and family members leaving courthouse

11. Wide shot Jackson family and Michael Jackson leaving courthouse and walking toward bus

12. Bus departs

APTN

13. Two shots of bus pulling away, crowds waving

STORYLINE

Fans of Michael Jackson erupted in cheers on Monday as the pop star emerged from a double-decker tour bus and went into court for an often testy showdown between his defence attorney and the prosecutor who twice filed child molestation charges against the singer.

Jackson, wearing a white suit with a mustard yellow armband, entered court with five of his siblings, also dressed in white, and his parents.

A bodyguard held a black umbrella over the singer, who flashed a peace sign to the crowd.

About 100 mostly young fans pressed against a chain-link fence and hoisted signs saying "Our Love is With You" and "Michael Jackson is Innocent" outside the hearing on whether prosecutors can use evidence seized from the office of a private investigator working for the singer.

Dozens of police and a small group of people demonstrating in support of sexual abuse victims were also at the court.

The defence is seeking to have key evidence excluded from the case by arguing that prosecutors violated Jackson's attorney-client privilege by searching the Beverly Hills office of a private investigator hired by his then-defence attorney, Mark Geragos.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon testified that he didn't know at the time that Geragos had hired the investigator, Bradley Miller.

As he testified, the exchanges between Sneddon and Jackson attorney Thomas Mesereau Junior were contentious at times - prompting a warning from Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville.

In a public relations flourish, Jackson decided to attend Monday's pre-trial hearing with his parents, Katherine and Joseph Jackson, and siblings Jermaine, Janet, Randy, Jackie and LaToya.

Jackson, 45, is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

He has pleaded not guilty and is free on three (m) million US dollars bail.

Santa Barbara County sheriff's officials already have testified that they used a sledgehammer to break into Miller's office and seize videotapes and files relating to the Jackson case.

They maintain that they did not know Miller was employed by Geragos.

The conspiracy count has become a centrepiece of the prosecution case with allegations that the 12-year-old accuser and his family were coerced into making a videotape praising the singer's character.

The tape and other materials seized from Miller's office are at issue in the hearing.

A ruling that they must be suppressed because they were wrongfully seized would seriously undermine the prosecution's case.

SHOTLIST:

1. Pan of cars arriving

2. Mid shot of supporters and protesters shouting

3. Close-up pan Jackson and family walking into court house

4. Close-up Michael Jackson and family walk into court waiting room

5. Mid shot of people outside of court house

6. Close-up Michael Jackson goes through metal detector into court room

7. Mid shot prosecution witness and former Jackson employee Adrian McManus walking into court

8. Pan of Jackson's attorney Tom Mesereau Jnr. walking into court

STORYLINE:

Michael Jackson headed back to court on Friday for another day in the child molestation trial against him.

Jackson's attorney Thursday attacked the credibility of two former employees at the singer's Neverland ranch who said they had seen Jackson act inappropriately with young boys.

A former security guard at the ranch, Ralph Chacon, told a lurid story about seeing the singer sexually abusing a child in the early 1990s, but was attacked by Jackson's lawyer as making the whole thing up "to get even."

Former guard and ex-maid Adrian McManus, who claimed she saw Jackson inappropriately touch actor Macaulay Culkin and two other boys, were called to testify in a prosecution attempt to show that the current molestation allegations against the pop star are part of a pattern.

But attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. accused Chacon of having tried to "extort" $16 million from Jackson in a lawsuit and lengthy trial that he and other ex-employees lost, and portrayed McManus as a thief and a liar.

The boy Chacon referred to received a financial settlement, reportedly between $15 million and $20 million, from Jackson in 1994.

The boy did not cooperate with a police investigation and no charges were filed against Jackson. The boy is not scheduled to testify in the trial.

Jackson, 46, is currently accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to make a video rebutting a TV documentary in which Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bed but that it was innocent and non-sexual.

McManus, a Jackson maid between 1990 and 1994, testified that she saw Jackson kiss Culkin on the cheek while his hand was on Culkin's bottom. She described a similar scene with two other boys and third incident involving the same boy that Chacon testified about.

But McManus also testified that when subpoenaed in the lawsuit that resulted in the 1994 settlement she did not tell attorneys that she had seen Jackson touching the boy.

SHOTLIST:

1. Black SUV pulling up outside courthouse

2. Pop icon Michael Jackson getting out of car

3. Various of Jackson waving to fans and then walking into courthouse, surrounded by body guards and shielded by black umbrella

4. High shot of Jackson walking into court

5. Various of Jackson walking through security inside court entrance

6. Jackson being checked by security guard using a metal detector wand

7. Jackson walking past security

8. Jackson's attorney - Thomas Mesereau Jr (white hair) - following him into court

JACKSON ARRIVES AT COURT

Pop icon Michael Jackson arrived for the start of his child-molestation trial Monday, greeted by a crowd of fans shouting encouragement as they pressed against fences to see the pop star.

Jackson, wearing all white and shielded by an umbrella, waved to supporters as he walked into court.

During the morning hours before his arrival fans danced and sang a Jackson song deriding the district attorney and booed a woman who held a sign backing the alleged victim, a 13-year-old boy.

Many had spent the night outside the little courthouse.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville summoned 300 people to court for the first round of jury selection on Monday. Another 300 are to follow on Tuesday, with a final 150 scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

From that pool of people, the judge hopes to find 12 jurors and eight alternates, but the process could take a month or more.

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a cancer patient - then aged 13, now 15 - and plying him with alcohol.

A day before the jury selection started, Jackson issued a court-approved video statement on his Web site, predicting he would be acquitted.on his Web site, predicting he would be acquitted.

SHOTLIST:

1. Black SUV pulling up outside courthouse

2. Pop icon Michael Jackson getting out of car

3. Various of Jackson waving to fans and then walking into courthouse, surrounded by body guards and shielded by black umbrella

4. High shot of Jackson walking into court

5. Various of Jackson walking through security inside court entrance

6. Jackson being checked by security guard using a metal detector wand

7. Jackson walking past security

8. Jackson's attorney - Thomas Mesereau Jr (white hair) - following him into court

9. Shots of Jackson supporters cheering on the other side of a fence near the courthouse

10. Pan from supporters holding signs to Jackson look-alike

11. Another shot of Jackson look-alike doing a TV interview

12. Close shot of sign reading "France Supports...M.J."

13. Shot of Spanish and British flags

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liddy Champo, Jackson Fan:

"I've been a fan since childhood, he's always impacted my life in some way. Yeah, from a child it was just like the general, he's the structure of your whole moral status. He teaches you the right things to do in life, the right path to take and he's basically the foundation of who I am today. It's all based on Michael."

15. Close shot of sign reading "England supports you Michael"

16. Wide shot of Ann Scott and granddaughter holding sign

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ann Scott, Jackson Fan:

"All I can say is innocent until proven guilty. And we love his music. And it was well worth all the money. We travelled to San Francisco and then to here, hopefully for my granddaughter to see him personally."

18. Media satellite trucks outside courthouse

19. Shot of press gathered outside courthouse

20. Reporter interviewing Debra Opri

21. SOUNDBITE: (English) Debra Opri, Attorney Representing Jackson Family:

"I have faith in the citizens of Santa Maria, I have faith in the citizens of Santa Barbara county. I believe they will do the right thing and they will properly evaluate the evidence and in the end, I think it's going to look good for Michael Jackson. People should wait until everything is presented."

22. Jackson waves to crowd just after getting out of car

STORYLINE:

Pop star Michael Jackson arrived for the start of his child-molestation trial Monday, greeted by a crowd of fans shouting encouragement who pressed against fences to see the pop star.

Jackson, wearing white and shielded by an umbrella, waved to supporters as he walked into the courthouse.

After more than an hour's wait, Jackson and his attorney stood and faced the first group of prospective jurors filing into the courtroom.

During the hours before Jackson's arrival, fans danced and sang a Jackson song deriding the district attorney, and they booed a woman who held a sign backing the alleged victim, a 13-year-old boy. Many had spent the night outside the little courthouse.

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a cancer patient - then age 13, now 15 - and plying him with alcohol. Early Sunday, Jackson issued a

court-approved video statement on his Web site, predicting he would be acquitted.

On Monday, Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said the pop star's "spirits are great," and shot down rumours that he had been suicidal.

Jackson is being prosecuted by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, 61, whom Jackson has derided in song as a "cold man" with a vendetta.

A child-molestation case Sneddon tried to build against Jackson 10 years ago fell apart when the singer's accuser reportedly accepted a multimillion-dollar civil settlement and refused to testify in any criminal case.

The challenge facing the court is not to find jurors ignorant of the case but to find those who say they can put aside everything they have heard and

look at the evidence as if they had heard nothing.

The referee is Melville, 63, a veteran of the bench who has refused to tolerate tardiness or even, in one case, a bathroom break for the defendant.

At the final pretrial hearing Friday, Melville made it clear that he won't abide lawyers attacking each other and that the gag order stands.

Earlier this month, the 1,900-page transcript of the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury that indicted Jackson was leaked to thesmokinggun.com and ABC News.

Among other things, the transcript included the accuser's testimony that Jackson closed his eyes tightly while molesting him on a bed, and that the

pop star ignored the child's warnings that he shouldn't drink alcohol because of his medical condition.

More than 1,000 applications for media access have been submitted, some of them from as far away as Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and Mexico.

SHOTLIST:

1. Mid view Jackson's car arriving

2. Katherine Jackson, mother of Michael Jackson, getting out of car

3. Michael Jackson and entourage walk towards courthouse

4. Michael Jackson waving to supporters

5. Long shot fans dancing

6. Michael Jackson and family walking into court room

STORYLINE:

Stung by several recent rulings favourable to the defence, prosecutors in the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial said they planned to wrap up their case as early as this week.

The pop star's trial resumed on Monday following a three-day break.

Meanwhile, speculation is mounting over whether prosecutors will call the pop star's former wife, Debbie Rowe.

Rowe is battling Jackson for custody of their two children, Prince, 8, and Paris, 7.

Prosecutors said last week they planned to rest their case during this, the trial's ninth week, clearing the way for Jackson's legal team to begin their defence of the pop star.

A host of A-list celebrities are expected to take the stand on behalf of the singer, including the screen legend Elizabeth Taylor, the television stars Larry King and Jay Leno, and the musician Stevie Wonder, to testify to the "King of Pop's" good character and innocent love of children.

Judge Rodney S. Melville cancelled Friday's court session when witnesses were not available to testify.

Melville denied prosecution requests on Thursday to present testimony on battered women's syndrome as it relates to the mother of Jackson's accuser and to present salacious new testimony from a former Jackson employee.

However, the judge said he would allow testimony from Chris Carter, a former Jackson security guard who was recently arrested for investigation of robbery in Las Vegas.

Carter was among those expected to testify this week.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in February or March 2003, giving the boy alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a TV documentary in which Jackson appeared with the boy and said he allowed children to sleep in his bed.

Jackson called the sleeping arrangement an innocent, non-sexual practice.

The child molestation trial of Michael Jackson has resumed in California with his videographer on the stand.

On Wednesday, prosecutors were preparing to question the Jackson's former wife, Debbie Rowe, who is expected to talk about a video she made supporting him.

Jackson's former videographer testified that two men whom prosecutors have named as the singer's unindicted co-conspirators became his managers in late 2002, a few months before they allegedly took part in a conspiracy to hold the family of Jackson's accuser captive.

Prosecutors asked Hamid Moslehi about Dieter Wiesner and Ronald Konitzer on Tuesday to try to link them more closely to the singer.

The mother of Jackson's accuser has testified that the German businessmen helped coerce her family into taking part in a videotaped interview rebutting a damaging documentary.

On cross-examination, Jackson defense attorney Thomas Mesereau, Jr., tried to show that Jackson was a victim of Wiesner and

Konitzer, not a close associate.

Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in February or March 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut "Living With Michael Jackson," in which the singer tells an interviewer he lets children sleep in his

bed, though not in a sexual way.

Moslehi said when he shot the rebuttal video and other footage to be used in a TV show defending Jackson, Wiesner and Konitzer promised him a percentage of net profits.

He said he received no profits, nor was he paid for his work. He said he received only a small part of $250,000 in invoices and has a suit pending against Jackson.

Moslehi said he filmed the accuser and his family three times and that after the third taping, he gave the accuser's mother

$2,000 as a loan because he felt sorry for her.

The defence contends that the mother has a history of trying to obtain money from celebrities and others, and that the family is now targeting Jackson.

The mother took the Fifth Amendment to avoid questions about alleged welfare fraud, and jurors heard that the family obtained a $150,000 settlement in a lawsuit against a department store.

(SHOTS 6-7 MUTE)

1. Pan view of motorcade

2. Close-up fans yelling support

3. Close-up, pan Michael Jackson and his family, including brother Jermaine, father Joseph and mother Katherine

4. Close-up Jackson walks into holding room inside court

5. Pan Jackson Attorney Thomas Mesereau Jnr. arrives at court

(NO AUDIO - AS INCOMING)

6. Close-up Joseph Jackson and then Michael Jackson walk through metal detectors into court

7. Pan view of Hamid Moslehi, Jackson's former personal director of photography walking into court

SHOTLIST

1. Michael Jackson defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr. pacing back and forth, talking on mobile phone and checking his watch repeatedly

2. Black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) speeding into courthouse driveway

3. Jackson, assisted by entourage, getting out of SUV and slowly walking to courthouse

4. Jackson walking through metal detectors and into courtroom

5. Jackson defence attorney Brian Oxman walking through metal detectors and into courtroom

6. Michael Jackson, assisted by entourage, walking out of courtroom past metal detectors

7. Michael Jackson and entourage leaving the court

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Brian Oxman, Attorney for Michael Jackson:

"Michael Jackson asked me to make a statement here - he tripped this morning and he fell early morning when he was getting dressed. His back is in terrible pain, he was in terrible discomfort during the entire trial proceedings, he is going to go home, recuperate, rest and relax and he will be back on Monday and he is looking forward to being here. He went to the emergency room this morning and he was given medications and so he will be back on Monday and we are all thank you so very much. You take care."

9. Jackson and entourage walking towards cars

STORYLINE:

Michael Jackson left court on Thursday after a dramatic day in his trial.

Jackson went missing from his child molestation trial on Thursday and was nearly jailed before he finally showed up more than an hour late, in his pyjama bottoms and slippers, to listen to his accuser''s second day of testimony.

The judge apparently did not punish Jackson for his lateness, which his lawyer blamed on a serious back problem that required treatment at a hospital.

Jackson''s late arrival occurred before his 15-year-old accuser testified about drinking liquor with the pop singer and looking at sex magazines with him. He also said he once saw Jackson walk in to the room naked.

The jury heard only brief remarks from Judge Rodney S. Melville about the drama that unfolded at the start of the day, when defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr. announced Jackson''s back problem.

Jackson''s late arrival marked yet another strange twist in case that has seen its share of unusual events in recent months.

When Jackson was arraigned in January 2004, the judge admonished him for arriving late and requesting a bathroom break. Last month, during the first week of jury selection, Jackson went to a hospital with flu symptoms, delaying the proceedings for a week.

"He tripped this morning and he fell early morning when he was getting dressed. His back is in terrible pain, he was in terrible discomfort during the entire trial proceedings" said Brian Oxman, from the Jackson''s defence team.

Prosecutors allege that Jackson, 46, molested the then-13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003, gave him alcohol and conspired to hold his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary in which Jackson said he shared his bed with children.

On the stand, the accuser occasionally glanced across the courtroom at Jackson, who appeared wan.

The witness told the jury that at some point Jackson showed him sexually explicit magazines found in a briefcase belonging to an employee. He said Jackson made a statement deriding the employee for having the magazines, but that he and the pop star looked at them for 30 minutes to an hour.

The boy, who had one of his kidneys removed as part of the cancer treatment, also said that at various times in Jackson''s private quarters - his bedroom, office and a wine cellar - he was given drinks he described as vodka, rum, and "Jim Bean," apparently meaning Jim Beam bourbon.

The boy told the jury that he and his brother were once on Jackson''s bed at Neverland when the singer came in naked, but the account differed from earlier testimony by the brother.

The trial will resume on Monday.

SHOTLIST:

1. Aerial shot of singer Michael Jackson arriving at court

2. Jackson entering court

3. Jackson entering security clearance for courtroom

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Jim Hammer, former San Francisco Prosecutor and Fox News Analyst:

"We have a jury. Literally at 11:23 this morning the judge swore in the first twelve jurors. That''s about two-and-a-half days, which I think is a record time in a case like this. One of the most dramatic parts in the morning came when one of the jurors was questioned, an African-American woman, the second who has appeared on the panel, and she recounted her own strong feelings about the lack of diversity, the lack of representation of African-Americans, her own experiences as a black woman in Santa Barbara County. It was one of the most animated times I have ever since Michael Jackson, the defendant in the case. He nodded with her, smiled and then she asked how diverse is this jury, looking around the courtroom where there are practically no African-Americans whatsoever. At the point that the prosecution moved to remove her from the jury for cause there was a long conference at sidebar, and later on when the prosecution actually exercised there peremptory challenge to kick her off the jury the defence objected again, and the judge said he had ruled on it and denied the defence motion, so two African-American women in a row have been kicked off by the prosecution so far."

5. Various interiors of empty courtroom

6. SOUNBITE (English): Tim Molloy, Reporter Associated Press:

"It''s eight women and four men. They appear to be seven white jurors, four Hispanic and one Asian."

7. Jackson entering courtroom after break

8. SOUNDBITE (English): Libby Copeland, Reporter Washington Post:

"Jackson at various points today coming back from breaks would step over to the bailiff''s desk and confer with his lawyers. He would unwrap candy and stuff it in his mouth. He laughed a lot in response to things that the jurors said."

9. Various of Jackson leaving courtroom

10. Jackson motorcade driving away

STORYLINE:

A jury was selected on Wednesday to decide Michael Jackson''s fate on charges that he molested a teenage boy at his Neverland Ranch in California.

The panel consists of four men and eight women, ranging in age from 20 to 79.

After the jury was sworn in, lawyers moved on to the selection of eight alternate jurors.

Jury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but took only five court days, which were interrupted by a one-week break due to the death of a sister of one of the lawyers and another one-week break when Jackson was hospitalised with flu-like symptoms.

Selection moved at a fast pace when the judge imposed tight time limits on how long each prospective juror could be questioned.

Selection of the alternate panel will continue on Thursday.

The 46-year-old Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol, and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.

SHOTLIST

APTN

Santa Maria, California - February 28, 2005

1. Mid shot of Michael Jackson turning and waving to people outside courthouse

2. Mid shot of Jackson supporters holding placards outside courthouse

3. Mid shot of supporters holding banner

4. Wide shot of Jackson waving to people outside courthouse

POOL

Santa Maria, California - April 27, 2005

5. Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe walking into court

POOL

Santa Maria, California - April 5, 2005

6. Close shot of prosecutor Tom Sneddon walking through metal detector toward courtroom

7. Close shot of Jackson lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr. walking through metal detector toward courtroom

APTN

Los Angeles, California - April 26, 2005

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Stan Goldman, legal analyst, Loyola University Law School:

"I don't think the prosecution has one of the world's strongest cases here when it comes to the actual complaining witness and his family. What makes it a reasonably strong case at this point is the evidence of prior events. You've got to prove two things in effect, if you're the prosecution: Michael Jackson is a paedophile and he acted out with this boy. If you can prove he's a paedophile based on other cases, you've done about two thirds of the heavy lifting already."

POOL

Santa Maria, California - March 9, 2005

9. Close shot of Jackson gesturing to people outside courthouse

APTN

Santa Maria, California - February 28, 2005

10. Court sketch, wide shot of prosecutor Sneddon (far left), Judge Rodney Melville (top centre), and Michael Jackson (far right)/pan to Jackson and Mesereau

11. Court sketch, close shot of Sneddon

APTN

Santa Maria, California - March 1, 2005

12. Mid shot of TV journalist Martin Bashir (centre) arriving at courthouse

13. Mid shot of photographer

POOL

Santa Maria, California - April 19, 2005

14. Mid shot of accuser's mother (covered by coat) passing through metal detector toward courthouse

POOL

Santa Maria, California - March 10, 2005

15. Court sketch close shot of accuser on witness stand

16. Court sketch close shot of Jackson

17. Court sketch mid shot of Judge Melville and Jackson lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr

18. Court sketch close shot of Melville

19. Court sketch close shot of accuser

APTN

Los Angeles - April 26, 2005

20. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jean Rosenbluth, legal analyst, University of Southern California:

"I think what the prosecution has going for it in this case is just sheer weight of evidence and it's going to be the... where there's smoke there's fire and there's so much stuff that's been thrown at the jury that perhaps they're just going to think 'gee, I'm not going to sort through all of this something must be going on'."

APTN

Los Angeles - April 6, 2005

21. Close shot of Mesereau and Jackson arriving at event

22. Close shot of photographers

POOL

Santa Maria, California - March 10, 2005

23. Close shot of Jackson in pyjama bottoms, tilt up to Jackson arriving at court house, pull out to wide of Jackson being helped by aides.

APTN

Los Angeles - April 26, 2005

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Stan Goldman, legal analyst, Loyola University Law School:

"I don't know how much saving of Michael Jackson's character you can do in this case. Sure, you can put him on, the way he (Mesereau) seems to have promised the jury he will do. You can make the jury feel that Michael Jackson has a completely different character with all sorts of witnesses. But in the end, what you really have to do is convince the jury that there is a reasonable doubt that he did what he's charged with."

POOL

Santa Maria, California - March 10, 2005

25. Close shot of Jackson walking through metal detector toward courtroom

DEFENCE PREPARES TO SAVE STAR FROM JAIL

The child abuse trial of superstar Michael Jackson - dubbed the trial of the century - has reached the half-way point, after nearly three months of courtroom drama in the small California town of Santa Maria.

The prosecuting team in the Michael Jackson child molestation case had planned to rest its case on Tuesday, but it remained unclear whether that deadline was on track.

As the prosecution sought to wrap up its presentation, it called final witnesses and presented more phone records in hopes of bolstering the conspiracy portion of their case against the pop star.

Prosecutors had initially hoped to rest its case last week.

But after Jackson's ex-wife Deborah Rowe delivered a startling setback in her testimony on Thursday, they needed more time to recoup their losses and orchestrate a strong finish.

In a stinging turn for the prosecution, Rowe testified that Jackson was easily manipulated by "opportunistic vultures" in his inner circle who wanted to make millions from his troubles.

Rowe was called by prosecutors to bolster a charge that the singer and his associates conspired to hold the accuser's family captive to make a video praising Jackson.

District Attorney Tom Sneddon had said Rowe would tell the jury her remarks in the video were scripted, and that Jackson strong-armed her into appearing in the video by promising her visitation with their kids.

But the strategy backfired when Rowe turned the tables on prosecutors, denying her remarks were scripted or rehearsed, and portraying Jackson as a "wonderful person" and "a great father."

The 46-year-old Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient in February or March 2003, and giving him alcohol.

Prosecutors also allege that Jackson conspired to hold the accuser's family captive to get them to rebut the "Living with Michael Jackson" documentary, in which the singer said he lets children sleep in his bed.

Jackson denies all 10 charges against him, including child abuse.

They began their case in late February, and brought forward their first key witness - British journalist Martin Bashir - on the first day of March.

Prosecutors won a victory of sorts in March when Judge Rodney Melville allowed past allegations against the singer to be used as evidence in the trial.

That move opened the door for testimony from witnesses who alleged prior acts of molestation before the 2003 incident in which Jackson is charged.

Some analysts say the prior allegations could still prove to be key in convincing the jury of a pattern of abusive behaviour on the part of Jackson.

As prosecutors in the Jackson trial wrap their case, the defence prepares to counter weeks of testimony, including that from witnesses who testified to alleged prior acts of molestation by Jackson.

The defence is likely to call on a host of celebrities to testify to the singer's good character and possibly even Jackson, himself.

Some analysts, again, note that Jackson's character is not on trial, and that defence attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. must convince the jury there is reasonable doubt as to the charges against him.

SHOTLIST:

1. Black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) arrives

2. Michael Jackson and entourage get out of SUV, AUDIO (fan screaming off camera): "Justice for Michael."

3. Jackson and entourage walk to courthouse, turns and waves to fans, AUDIO (fan screaming off camera): "Fight Michael fight."

4. Jackson goes through metal detector, guard searches Jackson with metal detecting device, Jackson walks into courtroom (continuous shot)

5. Witness Ann Gabriel Kite arrives, walks through metal detectors

6. Michael Jackson''s defence lawyers Thomas Mesereau Jr. and Susan Yu outside speaking

7. District Attorney Thomas Sneddon walks through metal detectors and into courtroom

8. Aerial of media lined up in parking lot under white tents to protect them from rain

JACKO TO TAKE THE STAND?

Michael Jackson''s defence team may be adding another star witness to their list: Michael Jackson.

As the 46-year-old pop star arrived for the third day of his trial for child molestation, jurors are still wondering if Jackson will take the stand.

In his opening statements Tuesday, defence attorney Thomas Mesereau made several implications regarding a testimony from Jackson.

Mesereau told jurors "Michael will tell you one time he got a very bad feeling at Neverland" minutes before the prosecution showed the documentary "Living with Jackson."

In the documentary, the singer is shown holding hands with the accuser and explaining that there is nothing sexual about occasionally sharing his bedroom with children.

The film was made by British journalist Martin Bashir, who took the stand yesterday for the prosecution.

The prosecution also called on witness Ann Gabriel Kite, who claims to have been hired by a former Jackson lawyer to help rebuild the pop star''s image after the documentary aired.

Although the star is not officially on the defence''s list of witness, a Jackson spokeswoman said the possibility has been spoken about.

Jackson would be exposed to cross examination by the prosecution if he did take the stand.

The pop star is on trial for sexual abuse and kidnapping charges against the 15-year-old boy featured in Bashir''s documentary.

SHOTLIST:

1. Pan view of cars arriving

2. Mid view of supporters and protesters shouting

3. Close up pan Jackson and family walking into court house

4. Close up Jackson and family walk into court waiting room

5. Mid view of people outside of court house

6. Close up Jackson goes through metal detector into court room

7. Mid view prosecution witness and former Jackson employee Adrian McManus walking into court

8. Pan view of Jackson's attorney Tom Mesereau Jnr. walking into court

9. Close-up pan of Jackson, leaning on employee, walking out of court house

10. Pan view as cars drive away

FORMER MAID TELLS COURT SHE USED MEDIA BROKER TO SELL STORIES

Michael Jackson's former maid testified at his child molestation trial on Friday that she and other employees used a "media broker" to sell stories to tabloids, including one claiming inside knowledge of Jackson's sex life with ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.

Adrian McManus had earlier testified for the prosecution that she saw Jackson in compromising positions with boys.

On Friday she insisted under cross-examination that she was not out to get Jackson's money even when she and four other Neverland employees sued him for millions.

Speaking of a wrongful-termination lawsuit, which backfired and resulted in a large judgment against the plaintiffs, McManus said she wanted justice.

Jackson attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr. asked: "But your idea of justice was millions of bucks?"

In reply she said an apology would have been enough for her.

Jackson is on trial on charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland ranch.

The prosecution is presenting evidence, much of it from former Jackson employees, that the crime was part of a pattern of inappropriate behaviour by the pop star with boys.

Mesereau has used the ex-employees' legal battles with Jackson and the sale of stories to tabloids to attack their credibility.

Before the trial went into recess for the weekend, prosecutors presented another ex-employee - 70 year old Phillip LeMarque.

In his testimony, he said he was delivering an order of french fries to Jackson at Neverland's arcade late one night and saw the singer holding "Home Alone" actor Macaulay Culkin up to a video game console with one hand on the boy's waist and the other in the boy's shorts.

The defence has asserted that Culkin has repeatedly said he was never molested, and a spokeswoman for the actor has said he has no plans to be part of the case.

Under defence questioning, LeMarque said he and his wife, a cook, sued Jackson for unpaid overtime and received a settlement.

LeMarque said he quit because his wife was asked to sign a false affidavit saying she saw a former maid go through people's purses.

That ex-maid, whose son received a financial settlement from Jackson in the 1990s after he alleged molestation, testified this week that she once found Jackson showering with a boy.

SHOLIST:

1. Aerial view of Michael Jackson and family getting out of car

2. Close up of Michael Jackson walking to Santa Maria Courthouse

3. Mid view of Michael Jackson walking into court (interior)

4. Mid view prosecutor walking to courthouse with documents

5. Mid view Michael Jackson walking through metal detector and entering trial room

6. Jackson walking out of courtroom

7. Jackson walking out of courthouse

8. Jackson answering reporter's question

9. Jackson and family walking to car

STORYLINE:

The chief investigator in the Michael Jackson case testified on Wednesday that the young accuser slumped down in his seat and became "choked up" when first interviewed about allegedly being molested by the pop star.

Sheriff's Sergeant Steve Robel also testified that the boy told him he was molested between five and seven times, but could not recall what happened every time.

"He was fine with talking to us," Robel said of the teenage boy's initial interview. "When I got into the molestation acts I noticed a change in (his) demeanour. He became very quiet, folded his arms and sank down into his chair.... he even became choked up."

Robel's questioning by District Attorney Tom Sneddon and cross examination by Jackson's attorney Robert Sanger also delved into differences in the number of alleged molestation incidents that have emerged in testimony.

The boy himself testified in the trial to only two molestations, but said he believed there may have been more.

Despite the statements about five to seven incidents, the investigator said that since the first interviews of the boy in July 2003 he has been able to provide detailed accounts of only two alleged molestations.

The possibility of the accuser not being aware or fully aware at certain times has been raised in testimony by the boy's brother, who said he twice witnessed his brother being molested while asleep.

46-year-old Jackson is accused of molesting the boy, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a TV documentary in which Jackson appeared with the boy and said he let children sleep in his bed, but it was non-sexual and innocent.

Jackson's defence contends the family has a history of filing false claims to get money.

The defence cross-examined Robel about what he knew of the rebuttal video, in which the family praised Jackson as a father figure.

Robel testified that before obtaining an arrest warrant for Jackson, none of the investigators had seen the rebuttal video.

"And it did not appear to you to be consistent with what you had been hearing from the family?" Sanger asked.

"I was not alarmed," said Robel, "because I recalled what (the mother) said to me in her initial interview."

Robel said the mother indicated she was instructed by a Jackson associate to do the video.

Robel also acknowledged he had not seen a collection of cards and letters written by the family to Jackson, calling him "daddy" and effusively paying tribute to him.

Another detective, Paul Zelis, testified about adult magazines found at Neverland, including one found in a nightstand drawer that also contained a studio photograph of the accuser, his brother and sister.

He acknowledged under cross-examination that the magazines were not tested for fingerprints until after grand jury hearings in March and April 2004.

Zelis did not say whether any fingerprints were found on the magazines, but prosecutors said in opening statements that some magazines had Jackson's and the accuser's fingerprints.

The defence contends Jackson once caught the boy and his brother going through his magazines and took them away.

SHOLIST:

1. Aerial view of Michael Jackson and family getting out of car

2. Close up of Michael Jackson walking to Santa Maria Courthouse

3. Mid view of Michael Jackson walking into court (interior)

4. Mid view prosecutor walking to courthouse with documents

5. Mid view Michael Jackson walking through metal detector and entering trial room

6. Jackson walking out of courtroom

7. Jackson walking out of courthouse

8. Jackson answering reporter's question

9. Jackson and family walking to car

STORYLINE:

The chief investigator in the Michael Jackson case testified on Wednesday that the young accuser slumped down in his seat and became "choked up" when first interviewed about allegedly being molested by the pop star.

Sheriff's Sergeant Steve Robel also testified that the boy told him he was molested between five and seven times, but could not recall what happened every time.

"He was fine with talking to us," Robel said of the teenage boy's initial interview. "When I got into the molestation acts I noticed a change in (his) demeanour. He became very quiet, folded his arms and sank down into his chair.... he even became choked up."

Robel's questioning by District Attorney Tom Sneddon and cross examination by Jackson's attorney Robert Sanger also delved into differences in the number of alleged molestation incidents that have emerged in testimony.

The boy himself testified in the trial to only two molestations, but said he believed there may have been more.

Despite the statements about five to seven incidents, the investigator said that since the first interviews of the boy in July 2003 he has been able to provide detailed accounts of only two alleged molestations.

The possibility of the accuser not being aware or fully aware at certain times has been raised in testimony by the boy's brother, who said he twice witnessed his brother being molested while asleep.

46-year-old Jackson is accused of molesting the boy, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a TV documentary in which Jackson appeared with the boy and said he let children sleep in his bed, but it was non-sexual and innocent.

Jackson's defence contends the family has a history of filing false claims to get money.

The defence cross-examined Robel about what he knew of the rebuttal video, in which the family praised Jackson as a father figure.

Robel testified that before obtaining an arrest warrant for Jackson, none of the investigators had seen the rebuttal video.

"And it did not appear to you to be consistent with what you had been hearing from the family?" Sanger asked.

"I was not alarmed," said Robel, "because I recalled what (the mother) said to me in her initial interview."

Robel said the mother indicated she was instructed by a Jackson associate to do the video.

Robel also acknowledged he had not seen a collection of cards and letters written by the family to Jackson, calling him "daddy" and effusively paying tribute to him.

Another detective, Paul Zelis, testified about adult magazines found at Neverland, including one found in a nightstand drawer that also contained a studio photograph of the accuser, his brother and sister.

He acknowledged under cross-examination that the magazines were not tested for fingerprints until after grand jury hearings in March and April 2004.

Zelis did not say whether any fingerprints were found on the magazines, but prosecutors said in opening statements that some magazines had Jackson's and the accuser's fingerprints.

The defence contends Jackson once caught the boy and his brother going through his magazines and took them away.

SHOTLIST

1. Michael Jackson's car pulling up

2. Fans

3. Jackson climbing out of car

4. Jackson walking towards courthouse

5. Jackson walking into holding room

6. Former Jackson attorney Mark Geragos walking into courthouse

7. Prosecutor Tom Snedden walking into courthouse

8. Jackson walking into courtroom

9. Jackson leaving courthouse

10. Jackson getting into car

11. Car driving away

STORYLINE

Michael Jackson's former attorney Mark Geragos testified in the pop star's child molestation trial on Friday that Jackson told him the accuser had slept in his bed but that nothing sexual had happened.

Geragos, who testified that he investigated the accuser's family and became gravely concerned about them, was cross-examined on whether he ever asked Jackson if the boy slept in his bed.

Geragos also gave a ringing defence of his former client as he described his first visit to Jackson's Neverland ranch.

Geragos said he was hired around the time of the February 2003 airing of a documentary in which Jackson appeared with the boy now accusing him of molestation and said he let children sleep in his bed, though it was non-sexual.

Under questioning by Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., Geragos said he was concerned about allegations spawned by the documentary and was particularly concerned that the boy or his family might take advantage of them.

He said he did database searches to see if the family had a "litigious history" and was disturbed to find they had previously sued J.C. Penney over allegations that they were beaten by security guards.

Geragos said he hired a private investigator, Bradley Miller, to investigate the family and the results led him to believe the family was bad news.

Before Geragos took the stand lawyers finished examining David LeGrand, an attorney who briefly worked on Jackson's financial problems in 2003.

LeGrand was called by the defence to support its contention that some of the associates Jackson is accused of conspiring with were actually conspiring to profit off Jackson.

Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient in February or March 2003 and plying him with wine.

He is also accused of conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to make a video rebutting a documentary in which the boy appeared with him and in which Jackson told an interviewer that he let children sleep in his bed, a practice he described as non-sexual.

Jackson denies the charges.

SHOTLIST

1. Pan shot of Jackson's car arriving in front of courthouse

2. Interior, Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. entering courtroom

3. Jackson's security men getting out of car, then Jackson's parents Joe and Katherine Jackson get out, followed by Michael Jackson, crowd chanting "Fight Michael Fight!"

4. Tracking shot of Jackson walking towards courthouse with parents, waving to fans

5. Interior, Jackson and parents going into holding room

6. Neverland property manager Joe Marcus waiting inside courtroom

7. Jackson and parents walk through medal detector and into courtroom

8. Actor Macaulay Culkin walks through metal detectors and into courthouse

9. Jackson and parents leaving courthouse

10. Tracking shot of Jackson and his parents walking to car

STORYLINE

"Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin denounced the molestation allegations against Michael Jackson as "absolutely ridiculous" on Wednesday.

Culkin testified that, contrary to prosecution claims, he was never victimised during his boyhood visits to the pop star's ranch.

The 24-year-old Culkin confidently rejected suggestions that he might have been molested during his sleep without

knowing about it and dismissed a prosecution display of sex magazines seized from Jackson's home, saying he used to keep Playboys under his own bed.

When defence attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. asked Culkin if he was ever molested by Jackson, he replied, "Not at all."

The actor's testimony was followed by a key decision in which the judge allowed the defence to play a videotape in which Jackson spoke of his love for children.

The jury heard Jackson say, "They need to be held and loved and told somebody cares."

Culkin was the third young man to testify at Jackson's child molestation trial that as boys they slept with Jackson at his Neverland ranch and weren't molested.

Culkin testified that he and Jackson were drawn together by their common experience as child performers, although he

laughingly noted that "it was not like a child actors' self-help group."

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003, giving him wine and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a documentary in which Jackson told an interviewer he let children sleep in his bed but it was innocent.

SHOTLIST

1. Michael Jackson's car pulling up to courthouse

2. Jackson gets out of car, waves to fans

3. Jackson walking to courthouse

4. Wide shot of Jackson flashing 'victory' sign to supporters

5. Jackson walking into holding room

6. Walking shot of Ralph Chacon, a former security guard at Jackson's Neverland Ranch

7. Jackson exits courthouse

8. UPSOUND: (English) Michael Jackson:

(Q: Michael, were you embarrassed for your mother this morning to hear the testimony? Were you embarrassed that your mother was there to hear that testimony?) "I love my mother."

9. Jackson, mother, and entourage walk towards car

NEVERLAND SECURITY GUARD TAKES THE STAND

A former security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch told a lurid story on Thursday about seeing the singer kiss, fondle and perform oral sex on a boy who later received a financial settlement from the pop star.

A former Jackson maid also testified that she saw him inappropriately touch actor Macaulay Culkin and three other boys.

The testimony is part of a prosecution attempt to show that the current molestation allegations against Jackson are part of a pattern of inappropriate sexual contact with little boys dating back more than a decade.

The former security guard, Ralph Chacon, was attacked by Jackson's lawyer who claimed he was making the whole thing up "to get even."

Defence attorney Thomas Mesereau accused Chacon of having tried to "extort" 16 (m) million US dollars from Jackson in a lawsuit and lengthy trial that he and the maid lost, forcing Chacon into bankruptcy.

During questioning by District Attorney Tom Sneddon, Chacon told of looking through a window one night at Jackson's pool house in late 1992 or early 1993 and seeing him perform oral sex on a 10-year-old boy.

Chacon said he saw Jackson engage in activities he described as "passionate" after the singer and the boy took a dip in an outdoor Jacuzzi and showered. He said he saw Jackson kiss the boy's head and shoulders and later moved his hands "down to his private area."

He also said there was another incident in which Jackson took the boy away in a golf cart and kissed him in front of a Peter Pan display.

The boy received a financial settlement, reportedly between 15 (m) million and 20 million US dollars, from Jackson in 1994, he did not cooperate with a police investigation and no charges were filed against Jackson. The boy is not scheduled to testify in the trial.

Adrian McManus, a Jackson maid between 1990 and 1994, also testified on Thursday that she saw Jackson kiss Culkin on the cheek while his hand was on Culkin's bottom.

The defence has asserted that Culkin has repeatedly said he was never molested, and a spokeswoman for the actor has said he has no plans to be part of the case.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to make a video rebutting a TV documentary in which Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bed but that it was innocent.

SHOTLIST:

1. Various of Michael Jackson arriving at court with entourage, including his mother Katherine (yellow jacket) and father Joseph (far left)

2. Michael Jackson and Joseph Jackson walk into court

3. Various of Michael Jackson passing through metal detector, preceded by brother Jermaine, enter court

4. Various of Jackson''s Defence attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., pulling trolley of files, arrives at court

5. District Attorney Tom Sneddon passes through metal detector

6. Michael Jackson leaving court with father

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jim Hammer, legal analyst:

"The alarm system is a big potential grounds to really impeach this kid''s credibility. This boy has testified in no uncertain terms, that this alarm system or as he called it a bell, could not be heard in Jackson''s room if the door were closed. Well that is either true or false. If it is as loud as the alarms or train whistles at Grand Central Station, it''s a problem."

8. UPSOUND: (English) Michael Jackson

"I''m feeling fine. I''ll see you tomorrow. Thank you."

9. Jackson and entourage leave building and walk towards car

LATEST FROM JACKSON TRIAL

A 14-year-old boy who testified that Michael Jackson molested his older brother, acknowledged under cross-examination on Tuesday, that the pop star didn''t show him a sex magazine that the prosecution had introduced into evidence.

The witness also said he lied under oath in a separate civil lawsuit.

The teenager, who visited Jackson''s Neverland ranch for the last time in March 2003, became confused after Jackson attorney Thomas Mesereau showed him a copy of Barely Legal magazine dated August 2003.

The boy had testified on Monday that the magazine was one of those that Jackson had showed to him and his brother.

Confronted with the conflicting dates, the boy said: "I never said it was exactly that one. That''s not exactly the one he showed us."

He said he had looked at the magazine with District Attorney Tom Sneddon before it was presented as evidence.

Under further questioning by Mesereau, the boy also said he lied under oath in another case when he swore that his mother and father never fought and that his father never hit him.

"When you were asked if your dad ever hit you, you said ''never,''" said Mesereau. "Were you telling the truth?"

"No," said the boy, who is the only trial witness so far to testify that the molestation occurred.

Jackson''s attorney also referred to a civil suit the boys'' mother filed against a department store company over an encounter with security guards.

The mother claimed she was sexually assaulted and the family was beaten by the store guards.

The defence contends the suit shows the family has a history of filing false claims to get money.

"Did someone tell you to lie in the J.C. Penney case?" Mesereau asked. "I don''t remember," the boy said.

When Mesereau asked him to tell the jury why he lied under oath, the boy said: "I don''t remember. It was five years ago. I don''t remember nothing."

46-year-old Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy cancer survivor at his Neverland estate in 2003 and giving him alcohol. He also is accused of conspiring to hold the boy''s family captive to get them to rebut a damaging documentary in which Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bedroom.

The 14-year-old boy became a crucial prosecution witness on Monday when he testified to actually seeing molestation, saying he twice walked into Jackson''s bedroom and saw Jackson masturbating with one hand while the other was in his sleeping brother''s underwear.

Mesereau asked the boy on Tuesday about an alarm system in Jackson''s house that alerts the singer when anyone is in the hall outside his bedroom.

"So the two times you claim you saw Michael Jackson touching your brother in bed, that alarm went off?" asked Mesereau. "Yes," said the boy.

When the boy testified about the alleged molestation on Monday, he did not mention any bell or alarm system and said his brother slept through both incidents, snoring at one point.

SHOTLIST

1. Black SUV (sports utility vehicle) pulling up outside courthouse, AUDIO of fans screaming

2. Pop icon Michael Jackson getting out of car

3. Various of Jackson waving to fans and then walking into courthouse, surrounded by body guards and shielded by black umbrella

4. Various of Jackson walking through security inside court entrance

5. Jackson being checked by security guard using a metal detector wand

6. Various of Jackson supporters cheering on the other side of a fence near the courthouse

7. Jackson look-alike doing a TV interview

8. Flags and banners

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liddy Champo, Jackson Fan:

"I've been a fan since childhood, he's always impacted my life in some way. Yeah, from a child it was just like the general, he's the structure of your whole moral status. He teaches you the right things to do in life, the right path to take and he's basically the foundation of who I am today."

10. Wide shot of Ann Scott and granddaughter holding sign supporting Jackson

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ann Scott, Jackson Fan:

"All I can say is innocent until proven guilty. And we love his music. And it was well worth all the money. We travelled to San Francisco and then to here, hopefully for my granddaughter to see him personally."

12. Media satellite trucks outside courthouse

13. Reporter interviewing Debra Opri

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Debra Opri, Attorney Representing Jackson Family:

"I have faith in the citizens of Santa Maria, I have faith in the citizens of Santa Barbara county. I believe they will do the right thing and they will properly evaluate the evidence and in the end, I think it's going to look good for Michael Jackson."

15. Jackson waves to crowd after getting out of car

16. Various of Jackson coming out of courthouse, waving to fans, AUDIO of fans screaming

17. Lawyers walking away

18. Jackson's car driving away

STORYLINE:

Pop star Michael Jackson faced prospective jurors in his child-molestation trial Monday after being greeted by a crowd of fans shouting encouragement and pressing against fences to see the pop star.

Jackson, wearing white and shielded by an umbrella, waved to supporters as he walked into the courthouse.

After more than an hour's wait, Jackson and his attorney stood and faced the first group of prospective jurors filing into the courtroom.

During the hours before Jackson's arrival, fans danced and sang a Jackson song deriding the district attorney, and they booed a woman who held a sign backing the alleged victim, a 13-year-old boy. Many had spent the night outside the little courthouse.

46-year-old Jackson is charged with molesting a cancer patient - then aged 13, now 15 - and plying him with alcohol.

Early on Sunday, Jackson issued a court-approved video statement on his Web site, predicting he would be acquitted.

On Monday, Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said the pop star's "spirits are great," and shot down rumours that he had been suicidal.

Jackson is being prosecuted by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, 61, whom Jackson has derided in song as a "cold man" with a vendetta.

A child-molestation case Sneddon tried to build against Jackson 10 years ago fell apart when the singer's accuser reportedly accepted a multimillion-dollar civil settlement and refused to testify in any criminal case.

The challenge facing the court is not to find jurors ignorant of the case but to find those who say they can put aside everything they have heard and

look at the evidence as if they had heard nothing.

The referee is Melville, 63, a veteran of the bench who has refused to tolerate tardiness or even, in one case, a bathroom break for the defendant.

At the final pre-trial hearing on Friday, Melville made it clear that he wouldn't abide lawyers attacking each other and that the gag order stood.

Earlier this month, the 1,900-page transcript of the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury that indicted Jackson was leaked to thesmokinggun.com and ABC News.

Among other things, the transcript included the accuser's testimony that Jackson closed his eyes tightly while molesting him on a bed, and that the

pop star ignored the child's warnings that he shouldn't drink alcohol because of his medical condition.

More than 1,000 applications for media access have been submitted, some of them from as far away as Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and Mexico.

SHOTLIST:

1. Michael Jackson's limousine arriving at courthouse

2. Fans with posters

3. Jackson climbs out of car and waves to crowd

4. Jackson walking to courtroom

5. Jackson entering courtroom

6. Prosecutor Tom Sneddon entering courthouse

7. Sneddon passes through metal detector

8. Defence attorney Thomas Mesereau enters courtroom

9. Joy Robson enters courthouse and goes into courtroom

10. Jackson and entourage enter courtroom

11. Michael Jackson leaving courthouse

12. Michael Jackson stepping into car and car driving away

STORYLINE:

Two mothers testified on Friday that they trusted Michael Jackson and were convinced that no molestation ever occurred as his attorneys opened their defence in the singer's molestation trial.

Joy Robson, whose 22 year-old son, Wade Robson, testified earlier that he was never molested by Jackson, said she trusted the pop star completely.

Also praising Jackson was Marie Lisbeth Barnes, whose son, Brett Barnes, testified that nothing improper happened when he shared Jackson's bed.

Robson was critical of the mother of a boy who accused Jackson of molestation in 1993 and received a multimillion-dollar settlement from the singer.

Under cross-examination, District Attorney Tom Sneddon suggested that Joy Robson ingratiated herself with Jackson because she thought he could help her son get into show business.

Robson denied that. Wade is a choreographer.

The defence was expected to call more witnesses to rebut a portion of the prosecution case intended to show that Jackson has a pattern of inappropriate behaviour with boys.

Jackson is accused of molesting a 13 year-old boy in 2003, giving him wine and conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive so they would rebut a damaging documentary in which Jackson said he let children sleep in his bed.

SHOTLIST:

1. Michael Jackson''s black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) arrives, AUDIO: (Fans chanting off camera) "Innocent"

2. Jackson''s entourage waits outside SUV for Jackson and family, AUDIO: (Fans chanting off camera) "Michael"

3. Michael Jackson and his mother Katherine emerge from the SUV, Jackson waives to fans and enters courthouse, AUDIO: (Fans chanting off camera) "Michael", "We love you Michael", "Michael''s innocent"

4. Michael Jackson walks through metal detector, guard searches Jackson, Jackson walks into court room

5. Jackson''s mother Katherine Jackson walks through metal detector, guard searches her purse, she walks into courtroom

6. District Attorney Thomas Sneddon walks through metal detectors and into courtroom

7. Jackson''s attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. walks through metal detectors and into courtroom

STORYLINE:

Michael Jackson arrived at the Santa Maria courthouse on Thursday for his ongoing child-molestation case.

Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch in 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy''s family captive.

The charges were sparked by journalist Martin Bashir''s 2003 documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson," in which the pop star said he let young boys sleep in his bedroom.

Jurors in the Jackson case got their first look Thursday at the singer''s master bedroom suite where he allegedly molested a 13-year-old boy.

The panel was shown videotape from a Nov. 18, 2003, raid of Jackson''s Neverland ranch that included shots of his cluttered bedroom, but none of the sexually explicit magazines that Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon has said were found in the suite.

The video, shot by Sheriff''s Department photographer Albert Lafferty, showed a sparkling bedspread, pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Temple, several TVs and stacks of videos.

The close-up look into the location of the alleged crime came a day after a prosecution witness said under cross-examination that she believed some of the alleged co-conspirators in a scheme against his accuser''s family may actually have been plotting against Jackson.

Ann Marie Kite, who was hired by an ex-boyfriend to help rehabilitate Jackson''s public image after the airing of the damaging documentary, testified Wednesday that his associates arranged a smear campaign that was to include portraying the accuser''s mother as a "crack whore."

Prosecutors called Kite to support allegations that Jackson and associates held the family against their will at Neverland and other locations throughout February 2003.

But in an aggressive cross-examination by defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr., Kite said she was concerned during her six days of employment that Jackson was a victim of people in his inner circle who either botched his public relations or deliberately tried to damage his reputation.