Posted on 08/05/2005 8:32:23 AM PDT by SkyPilot
LOS ANGELES - Jury deliberations in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial were allegedly tainted by shocking misconduct that included smuggling in videotaped Court TV shows and secretly communicating with the pop star's mother, the Daily News has learned. Author Stacy Brown revealed the stunning jury room shenanigans he heard from two jurors who consulted him for help with tell-all books they plan to write.
"From what I've heard, the whole trial was a waste of taxpayers' money and time. That jury would have acquitted him even if they had a videotape [of the alleged crime]," said Brown. Brown says the two jurors detailed a laundry list of misconduct during the pop star's trial, including:
Ray Hultman
A juror sneaked a forbidden video of Court TV broadcasts featuring the prosecution-friendly Diane Dimond and Nancy Grace into the jury room, but a faulty VCR prevented a sneak peek.
Juror Eleanor Cook says she smuggled a medical text into deliberations to show "Jackson fit the book's definition of a pedophile to a T." Other jurors later held it over her head to "intimidate" her into voting for acquittal, she says.
Eleanor Cook
Cook admits she frequently winked at Jackson's mother Katherine in court and "exchanged wardrobe tips" with the entertainer's mom, which resulted in them wearing the same colors on certain days. "She [Cook] intimated that she communicated with Katherine Jackson, in some manner, during the trial," said Brown.
A gang of three female jurors were such rabid Jackson fans that they cooed, "Not my Michael . . ." when the panel discussed the felony charges against the pop idol. Both Cook and juror Ray Hultman "said these three women formed a bond, and their minds were made up about one-third of the way through the trial," Brown said. Brown, a former Jackson family friend who co-authored "Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask" with the singer's ex-publicist Bob Jones, was asked by Cook and Hultman to help them write books about their time in the jury room.
Both Cook, 79, and Hultman, 62, say they now believe Jackson was guilty.
After talking to Cook and Hultman, Brown says their explanations for voting to acquit Jackson while believing he was guilty "just don't add up," and it's "very unlikely" he'll help either pen a book.
"If they really felt Michael Jackson was guilty, they had the opportunity to send that message with their vote," said Brown, "They could have hung the jury - if they really believed a pedophile was going back into their community. . . . I think they are trying to sell books."
Brown said he is especially suspicious of Cook's motives because she fervently supported the verdict immediately after the trial and ridiculed the accuser's mother for snapping her fingers at the jury. "Don't snap your fingers at me, lady!" the feisty grandmother declared in explaining why the panel didn't believe the boy's mom.
And since the verdict, Cook has chatted with Jackson's mother by phone, Brown said. Bringing the Court TV video and the medical book into deliberations were violations of court rules because only trial evidence is allowed in deliberations and jurors are barred from considering outside materials, especially media reports.
Brown said Judge Rodney Melville never found out about the medical book, but a bailiff reported the video incident. Still, the judge did not boot the rule-breaking jurors.
According to Cook, the jury was so pro-Jackson they would have acquitted him within minutes if she hadn't protested, Brown said. "Elly [Cook] claims there would have been no deliberation at all if she hadn't said she thought he was guilty," Brown said.
Hultman and another unidentified juror apparently joined Cook in an early vote, leaving the panel split 9-3 in favor of acquittal, Brown said.
He also said Hultman claims he ultimately went along with the "uneducated" majority because he didn't think he could persuade them to reconsider. Cook has said she was "intimidated" into joining the crowd. It's unclear what swayed the third juror.
I don't care how big of a fan I was, even if it was Mel Gibson (sigh...) & I thought he was guilty of child molestation I'd vote to lock his butt up forever. These people are sick!
I've often said that you'd be hard-pressed to find a group of people with a lower collective IQ than a California jury, and this story sure reinforces my point.
Dont forget the OJ trial, and Rodney King was made a millionaire by these low IQ Jurors.
Robert Blake walked, Natalie Woods murderer is still making movies and Jane Fonda is still a traitor who hasnt been tried.
They probably would. Michael pays his pimps and procurers very well, as we know.
Nor will I.
Nor will I read it, if it's offered to me for FREE.
Or how much money can I, as a juror, make off the book, movie or Playboy spread?
Of course you would have to be Michael Jackson to get the respect, adoration and acquittal you want.
This type of juror misconduct is especially egregious because of the nature of Jackson's crimes.
Something is in the water down there. It doesn't wear off when they move away, they infect the neighborhoods they move to with their sickness.
Maybe liberalism is contagious?
Natalie Woods' murderer?
I thought she fell off a boat drunk.
One of the cutest girls ever.
I think it would, first, shorten the trial because people would be ancy to get on with their lives and the lawyers would know they run a huge risk of ticking people off. And second, usually, there would be at least a few decent people on every jury to balance out the rest. Finally, it would put those "jury specialists" out of business and make them get real jobs. ; )
"Finally, it would put those "jury specialists" out of business and make them get real jobs. ; )"
I like your ideas. I like making jury duty mandatory, no exceptions. And fair compensation should be part of it.
Of course your ideas have no chance of becoming reality, since those that would lose most are those that would have to enact the rules changes.
Of course, that could suppress voter registration which could cause problems. Perhaps it could be tied to driver's licenses, but that could mean illegals could be on a jury.
Oh never mind. There's a reason I'm not a in public office. LOL. However, I wonder if some enterprising person could get something like this on the ballot in each state as an initiative. That might get us around the vested interests.
It's sure to be smarmy, even with a good ghost writer. I don't think my stomach would be able to take it.
I sure hope you're right. These people on the jury are disgusting.
So there may be hope yet. You're right though, the actions of these jurors are particularly egregious.
Cook rubbed me the wrong way in
her interview moments after the
verdict. What smarta$$ b****!
Not by casual contact, our I'd be in a world of hurt.
Of course, the case should have gone to trial. There was enough evidence. And no way should someone escape prosecution because he is a rich, famous and demented celebrity.
Once again, we had a stupid and/or corrupt OJ/Blake/Durst jury who were not about to convict a celebrity. >P>The children in his care (whoever may be their actual parent) remain in danger. Imagine tangling a baby from a balcony or making your children wear veils.
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