The eight women and four men chosen Wednesday to decide Michael Jackson's fate in his child molestation trial claim to have few opinions about this high-profile case. If they read something in the news, they didn't trust it, and if they know someone who knows Jackson, they certainly didn't spend much time discussing the famously eccentric pop star.
He's "just like anybody else, really," said a 22-year-old mother of two, when asked if she has any thoughts about Jackson.
"I watch old movies and I like things that make me happy," said a chatty 79-year-old widow picked for the jury, when asked about her media consumption. "And if it doesn't make me happy, I'm not going to get involved, thank you."
Still, there are all sorts of ways in which the lives of the jurors -- the 12 chosen Wednesday and the eight alternates selected Thursday -- intersect with the case. They are drawn from northern Santa Barbara County, where Jackson's Neverland Ranch is located. Some with close ties or clear bias were excused from the jury pool, but people know people here, and people talk. The northern part of the county, heavily agricultural, has fewer than 200,000 people. There are a few small cities and smaller communities. People see each other at stoplights and retail counters.
The jury is mostly white and Hispanic, a mix that reflects the ethnic makeup of the area. The youngest juror is 20. There is one African American man among the alternates. The 12 include a physical therapy aide, a clerk, a civil engineer, an assistant head cashier, a supervisor for the Department of Social Services, three retirees and one who is unemployed. Four are parents of young children or teenagers.
Difficult to avoid the headlines
Although some of the jurors claimed to read little more than headlines about the Jackson case, it became clear during questioning that publicity had become hard to ignore. A 50-year-old horse trainer and riding instructor said she thought she saw half of the TV documentary British journalist Martin Bashir did with Michael Jackson, in which his accuser held Jackson's hand and snuggled against him. She said she viewed the show with skepticism, since the media tend to sensationalize things.
"It was his spin on it," she said.
The 79-year-old widow knows a woman at JCPenney who sort of knows Jackson, and a man questioned Thursday for the alternate pool is a UPS driver who has delivered to Jackson's ranch. One of the 12 jurors recalled that 10 years ago his sixth-grade anti-drug course was taught by a detective closely involved with the prosecution's case.
A revealing 20 minutes
You can learn a lot about a person's personality in 20 minutes of questioning, which is the sum total of what defense and prosecution attorneys were allowed in evaluating each potential juror. They have been questioned about themes including sexual molestation, whether children lie, how the media affect perceptions of celebrities and the conduct of law enforcement. Many of these themes will likely figure in the trial, in which Jackson is charged with molesting a then-13-year-old boy at his ranch and serving him alcohol. Judge Rodney S. Melville has scheduled opening arguments for Monday.
There's a 42-year-old educational aide and mother of four, who said her sister was raped at age 12. She also said she once had to contact law enforcement after a young relative told her she'd been the victim of what the juror questionnaires refer to as "inappropriate sexual behavior."
The 22-year-old mother of two said her aunt went to Neverland once. Asked whether she's followed Jackson's career, her answer contained a subtle barb at the 46-year-old pop star, whom many consider past his artistic prime: "Not really," she said. "A little before my time."
The chatty widow said her grandson was arrested for something and had to register as a "sexual deviant." She was disappointed in him, she said, but "understood where he was coming from." At one point during questioning, she said she noticed that one of the attorneys had asked other jurors about their personal lives and wanted to know if he was going to inquire about "all the organizations I belong to."
Then she listed several, and finished with "I'm a busy lady."
"You really are," said the kindly, mild-mannered judge.
At various points, questioning veered beyond the mundane into the seemingly irrelevant.
A 45-year-old juror, who described herself as unemployed, said she has read no newspaper accounts of the Jackson case. She mentioned that she likes food.
"And what are your favorite foods?" asked lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.
"Um, I like vegetables," she replied.