SANTA MARIA, California, Feb 7 (AFP) - Michael Jackson`s child molestation trial wrapped up its second week in barely an hour Monday, without the pop star and in sharp contrast to the blaze of publicity that marked its opening.
The planned grilling of potential jurors who could put Jackson behind bars for up to 20 years did not take place as initially scheduled because of a death in the family of defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau.
Jackson, whose appearance last week drew frenzied cheers from fans, did not attend Monday`s proceedings in Santa Maria, a small Californian city of 85,000.
In the brief hearing, Judge Rodney Melville agreed to release to the media questionnaires filled out by more than 250 people summoned for possible jury duty.
He then told the potential jurors they should not discuss the case with others or even among themselves, and should not follow it in the media.
The men and women who might decide Jackson`s fate were then given random numbers and told to return on January 14, when the two sides will have a chance to question them individually. No further hearings are scheduled this week.
Only about a handful of journalists and photographers, as well as half a dozen fans showed up at the courthouse for the proceedings, which lasted barely an hour.
Hard core fan Shiree Wilkins, 33, stood with a few others outside the gates to show support to the "King of Pop". Wilkins, sporting a T-shirt that demanded justice for Michael, said she quit her kindergarten job to be at the courthouse every day of the trial, which is expected to last six months.
A couple of teenagers also showed up, holding up balloons bearing the word "innocent."
Jackson has pleaded innocent to the 10-count charge that he fondled a 13-year-old boy, plied him with alcohol and conspired to kidnap him. In 1993, the boy, his mother and two siblings had spent time at Jackson`s Neverland amusement park home near Santa Maria.
Jackson had already been accused of child molestation in 1993, but settled the case out of court in a multimillion-dollar deal.
His appearance at the trial last week put the spotlight on the usually quiet city in the heart of California`s wine country.
But Monday`s low-key proceedings contrasted sharply with the blaze of publicity that surrounded the opening of the trial, when more than 1,000 media representatives and some 200 fans showed up.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers will now have additional time to analyze the questionnaires filled out by more than 250 potential jurors ahead of the process of selecting 12 jurors and eight alternates.
Since the jury would have to be unanimous to convict Jackson, its composition could be critical in determining the outcome of the trial.
The prosecution is likely hoping for a jury made up of conservative, religious and family oriented members, while the defense would like to see younger, more liberal and childless jurors, according to legal experts. Some of them believe ethnicity could be a factor in a city where 60 percent of the population is Hispanic and fewer than two percent describe themselves as African-American.
About one third of the 230 potential jurors who showed up Monday appeared to be Hispanic, and only six were black.
Members of Jackson`s famous musical family are expected to show up at a later stage, but Melville has asked them to stay away for now as most of the 120 seats in the public gallery are needed for jury selection.
02/07/2005 19:41 GMT - AFP