Free Republic

MICHAEL Jackson's family wants the judge in the pop legend's child molestation trial to bend the rules and let them gather en masse around him for the fateful moment when jurors deliver their verdict. Family aides said today they were hoping that Judge Rodney Melville will give Jackson more than his allotted six seats for family members in the courtroom. "The family wants to be with Michael when the verdict is read ... everybody wants to be there to give support," Jackson family lawyer Debra Opri told reporters. Opri said she hoped special dispensation could be made for Jackson to...

Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe has agreed to be a star witness against the singer during his child molestation trial. Ms Rowe, 37, was married to Jackson for three years and is mother of his children Prince and Paris. But she has now formally been added to the state's list of witnesses. Insiders say her testimony is likely to "blow the lid" off Jackson's bizarre lifestyle. Since the allegations of child abuse first surfaced, the former nurse has filed to regain custody of their children. She was said to have signed all rights over to Jackson after their 1999 divorce,...