Jacko calls more stars to his defence

Michael Jackson returned to a California court today after a week’s delay and the judge assured prospective jurors that the singer really had been ill and there was no plot to put off his child molestation trial.

Jackson, dressed in black, chatted with his lawyers at the defence table in Santa Maria before questioning of prospective jurors started.

Judge Rodney Melville told prospective jurors that he understood their frustrations over “a couple of false starts”. He referred to Jackson’s illness, which closed down jury selection for a week, and an earlier delay caused by the death of defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau’s sister.

He told then that the delays were not part of a calculated attempt by anyone to slow down the trial.

“Mr Jackson really was sick. He really did have the flu,” the judge said. “I talked to his doctor. … I wouldn’t let anyone take advantage of us that way.”

The judge said several names had been added to the defence’s celebrity-studded witness list, including Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, actor Eddie Murphy and singer Smokey Robinson.

More than 300 names submitted earlier included Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross and Jay Leno.

Lawyers were scheduled to question prospective jurors about any biases that should keep them off the panel.

Jury selection was abruptly cut off last Tuesday when the judge announced that Jackson had been rushed to hospital with flu-like symptoms.

Before jury selection was cancelled last week, Mesereau asked prospects about their interest in the arts, their feelings toward Jackson, and whether they believed child witnesses could be led to lie. The defines will argue that the mother of Jackson’s 15-year-old accuser, a former cancer patient, has told him to lie.

Lawyers are trying to select 12 jurors and eight alternates from a pool of 242 potential jurors. Each side can ask to remove an unlimited number of jurors for bias, and eliminate 10 jurors without cause.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting the boy, plying him with wine, and conspiring to hold his family captive.

The defines was expected to argue that the mother of Jackson’s 15-year-old accuser has told him to lie.