SANTA MARIA, California - Rival lawyers in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial on Thursday crossed swords over the validity of fingerprints found on pornographic magazines at the star's home.
Prosecutors are battling to convince jurors that prints belonging to the faded superstar and his now 15-year-old accuser on a raunchy publication meant that Jackson used the porn to "groom" his alleged victim for abuse.
But Jackson lawyer Robert Sanger suggested the accuser had handled the magazine at a court hearing between the time it was seized in a November 2003 search of Neverland Ranch and the time it was dusted for fingerprints.
"I think the prosecution has yet to show that this mountain of porn they produced was shown to the accuser by Michael Jackson," said legal analyst Jim Moret outside the courtroom in the California town of Santa Maria.
"There has to be a connection between these material and Michael Jackson and his accuser" in order for the prosecution argument to stand, he added.
Secret Service forensic expert Antonio Cantu explained fingerprinting techniques to jurors to lay the foundations for testimony about items seized from Jackson's fantasy-themed Neverland during a massive police swoop.
But Jackson's lawyers repeatedly pointed out that a year had passed between the search and the time the evidence was dusted for prints.
Cantu, however, said the time lapse should not cause "any degradation" of the evidence.
The defense claims that the boy's fingerprints were placed on the magazine when he was asked to identify it during a hearing before the grand jury that handed down a 10-charge indictment against Jackson in April 2004.
Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department forensics expert Lisa Root Hamman, who took part in the Neverland search, described to the court how she used ultra violet light to search for any forensic evidence on the racy magazines.
But jurors who had earlier paid close attention and took copious notes during the explosive testimony offered in the first three weeks of Jackson's trial often appeared bored by the details and specialised testimony.
One alternate juror fell asleep as others fidgeted through the expert testimony.
"That is a problem for both the prosecution and the defense," Moret said, adding that "you don't want to lose jurors."
On Wednesday, jurors were shown dozens of pornographic magazines seized from the star's bedroom at Neverland, boasting eclectic titles such as "Total Teen Filth," to "Over 50," and "Plumpers and Big Women."
But trial Judge Rodney Melville denied a prosecution bid to show the panel erotic images found on computers seized at the star's home.
Jackson has denied 10 charges, including molestation, plying the then 13-year-old cancer patient with alcohol to seduce him and plotting to kidnap the boy and his family. He could be jailed for up to 20 years if convicted.
03/24/2005 19:08 GMT