Jackson circus comes to town for arraignment

Two months after a prosecutor made worldwide news by announcing he would charge Michael Jackson with child molestation, the multimillionaire pop star is set to face his first court appearance today amid an all-out media blitz.

Jackson, a long-time resident of an idyllic central California valley, abandoned his fabled Neverland Ranch after the case broke and was planning to travel to court from Beverly Hills where he has been holed up in a spectacular rented mansion.

Busloads of Jackson fans also were en route from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to the rural Santa Maria Valley on a “Caravan of Love” to show their support for Jackson. Several members of Jackson’s famous family planned to be at his side when he is arraigned.

With news crews arriving from around the globe, setting up mini TV studios and satellite dishes, the scene was reminiscent of the OJ Simpson murder trial.

Although small compared to Simpson’s “dream team,” Jackson’s defence expanded yesterday with the addition of New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman, a principal of the firm that won acquittal for Sean P Diddy Combs on bribery and weapons charges in 2001.

Jackson’s lawyer Mark Geragos, announced that Brafman would act as “co-lead counsel” and would appear with him at today’s arraignment.

Jackson is charged with seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent, reportedly wine. Jackson, who has maintained his innocence, has been free on bail pending arraignment.

Nearly 10 years after the Simpson trial brought a media horde to the Los Angeles courts, many of the same players trekked 150 miles north-west to an area better known for its vineyards and strawberry fields than its criminal cases.

The feeling of a time warp was intensified by the presence of Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark, standing outside the courthouse doing reports for TVs Entertainment Tonight.

Clark, who never prosecuted another case after losing the nation’s most famous murder trial, admitted it was strange to be on the other side of the media attention.

“It’s a bizarre world,” she said. “It’s like everything is turned upside down. I now get to see what the press went through in Simpson. I feel your pain.”

Another former law enforcement figure will be working on TV. Jim Thomas, the former Santa Barbara County sheriff who attempted to bring molestation charges against Jackson 10 years ago, has signed on as a commentator for NBC.

Thomas, a close friend of Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, makes no pretence of impartiality.

“I can argue both sides but I have a personal opinion based on my knowledge of the 1993 case,” he said. “I think he’s going to be convicted.”