Guest: Larry Pozner, Mickey Sherman, Lisa Bloom, Amy Dean, Michael Pauken, Dean Puschnig, Maureen Orth, Ronald Richards, Stacey Brown, Mickey Sherman, Susan Filan
DAN ABRAMS, MSNBC ANCHOR: Hi, everyone, this was no ordinary bizarro day in the Michael Jackson case. No, this was even worse than usual. You‘re going to want to pour a glass of what Jackson apparently calls Jesus juice for this hour because frankly it‘s a little hard to believe. The accuser‘s testimony was supposed to take center stage today. It didn‘t and the side show began!
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ABRAMS (voice-over): 8:30 a.m., court scheduled to begin. Jackson‘s lawyers are at the courthouse. Fans and reporters line up, but where in the world is Michael Jackson? 8:34, the judge comes in and notices that somebody‘s missing. Knowing that Jackson‘s been warned to be on time, his attorney Tom Mesereau quickly tries to calm the situation, announcing that once again, Jackson‘s in a hospital. This time, it‘s not the flu but back trouble. He‘s got a doctor on the line. 8:36, Judge Melville steps in and tells the attorney he‘s got an hour to get Jackson to court. He issues a warrant for Jackson‘s arrest and threatens to take away his $3 million bail.
And so the waiting begins. Will Jackson be able to shimmy his way back to court on time? 8:50, wouldn‘t want to be this guy, Thomas Mesereau, pacing outside the courtroom, frantically on the phone, knowing that he‘s got some explaining to do. 8:45, a hospital spokeswoman reports Jackson‘s been treated and released but he now has only has 50 minutes to make it 35 miles back to court.