SANTA MARIA, California Feb 13 (AFP) - Jury selection was to begin Monday in pop star Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, with both defense and prosecution attorneys set to grill the men and women who could decide the singer's fate.
Because a single dissenting voice could prevent a conviction, the composition of the 12-strong jury could be decisive in determining whether the "King of Pop" spends up to 20 years behind bars.
The key phase of the trial was to have begun on February 7, but was postponed because of a death in the family of Jackson's lead lawyer, Thomas Mesereau.
The celebrity trial of the century began on January 31 amid a blaze of publicity, with more than 1,000 media representatives and 200 fans thronging the courthouse in the small Californian city of Santa Maria. The following Monday, proceedings were adjourned for a week after a barely hour-long hearing.
Now, jury selection is to begin in earnest.
Starting Monday, the defense and the prosecution will question some of the 250 potential jurors as part of a process that will conclude with the seating of a 12-strong jury and eight alternates. The two sides spent the past few days analyzing eight-page juror questionnaires that are meant to help detect any preconceived biases.
The potential panelists answered 41 questions aimed at gauging their positions on key issues in the case. The candidates were asked how they felt about racism, if they had any personal experience of sexual abuse, and if they had any relationship to the star.
About half of the 250 people questioned conceded that they had heard something about the case or a previous child sex investigation that focused on Jackson in 1993.
One juror said that the sister of his niece-in-law had once dated a cousin of Jackson, and another said a friend worked at the entertainer's sprawling Neverland ranch.
It was at the ranch -- Jackson's amusement park home near Santa Maria -- that Jackson is alleged to have fondled a 13-year-old boy, plied him with alcohol and conspired to kidnap him two years ago.
Jackson, 46, has pleaded innocent and said the accusations were "a big lie" concocted in a bid to extort money from him.
His fans have no doubt the faded idol could not harm a child, and have proclaimed this at the gates of the courthouse, holding up banners and balloons bearing the word "innocent."
Jackson, whose court appearances two weeks ago drew frenzied cheers from some 200 fans, is expected to be present throughout the proceedings.
It could take weeks before a jury is picked and about six months before the jurors determine whether Jackson is a child molester.
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.
Sixty percent of the population of this city is Hispanic and fewer than two percent describe themselves as African-American. Most of the 250 potential jurors are white, about a third are Hispanic and only six are black. They range in age from 18 to their 80s and more than half are women.
Judge Rodney Melville told the candidates they could not discuss the case with anybody, even among themselves, and should not follow it in the media.
He has also imposed a gag order that bars both sides from talking to the media and has sealed the grand jury indictment against Jackson.
02/13/2005 18:10 GMT - AFP