I bet some of 'em are ready to gag a lot sooner than that.
I don’t think that would work. If they did convince the judge that the testimony should be disallowed would the judge just tell the jury to forget they had seen it? He might, but in reality they have seen it and it will help form their opinion of his innocence or guilt.
Even if they have witnessed criminal activity? Would the guard have kept quiet if he had witnessed a murder?
I believe that the guard (and the maid) who witnessed these criminal actions and kept quiet are just as guilty as Michael Jackson is (assuming they aren’t telling Porkies).
In legal parlance, “you can’t unring a bell.”
It’s called misprision of felony – witnessing a felony and not reporting it. I don’t know if California recognizes it as a crime.
Just a guess but gag orders probably don’t have any bearing on being called to testify. It could deter reporting the crime, though - they could open themselves up to breach of contract proceedings. A case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
One of the lawyers on Court TV–I know, I know, grain of salt–said that being subpoened to witness in a criminal (not civil) case invalidates and trumps all such hush-up contracts.
CEMJ also apparently had actual thuglike guards who would intimidate the staff as well. One guy in particular was so fearsome the other guards didn’t want to cross him.
Maybe they were talking about Anthony Pellicano? Damn, I am glad that guy’s in prison-he was one freaky SOB.
It seems passing strange that these people were allowed to testify at all - in every published (in the media) case involving women who claimed sexual something or other, their previous bad behaviour is never allowed to be mentioned. It is difficult to be sympathetic for such a donkey as MJ. I think all the hysteria by parents, peers & weirdos like tabloid bitch CNN Nancy Grace makes “touching” into something traumatic that should probably have just been ignored. But then how could they get $20 M. in a settlement?
[QUOTE=Rilchiam]
Jackson, boy had sexual contact
It’s gross, but not surprising. If you’ve got the stomach for it, you can read the boy’s testimony over at The Smoking Gun. Jackson allegedly paid the kid $20 million to drop that suit.
Generally, in a lot of cases, the defense doesn’t like to put their guy on the stand, and it seems to work fairly well for them, since they keep doing it.
You know, I realize that it’s possible MJ didn’t do this, and there’s evidence out there that some of his accusers might not be the most reliable witnesses, and that he’s got a good attorney, but my mind keeps going back to that documentary where he and the kid who is now accussing him were sitting there holding hands. I can’t shake that image from my mind. You know, that whole thing is just wrong. I have to say that based on that alone, if I were on the jury, it’d take a helluvalot of work on the defense’s part to get me to vote not guilty.