| September
17
Part
2
The Witness
by Gail Felix
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I am going to backtrack a little to where we left off in Part 2, right
before the judge came in and we were called to order.
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I have to say, as beautiful and famous as the Jackson Family is, what
struck me is that, beyond all the beauty and grace, they are just that
- Family. Their love for one another is apparent. It's also apparent
that they are the same as many families with lots of brothers and sisters.
They tease each other. I think I enjoyed being able to watch that interaction
more than any other. The love and respect they have for their Mother
was also very moving to me.
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OK - on with the story. Did I remember to tell you Steve Cochran introduced
himself to me? Well, Raymone Bains did as well. She is very beautiful
and very nice. Now to the atmosphere in the courtroom.
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Even before the bailiff said, "All rise," you could feel the
tension. It was running from the back of the court room to the front.
It ran from the fans in the back to the media, on to the family and
up to both sides of attorneys. I couldn't see Michael's face while he
was sitting down between Mez and Steve, but he seemed relaxed and focused
on the issue at hand.
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I could tell that Sneddon was getting nervous as his "witness"
was running late. There was whispering among all of us, the Jackson
family included, as to if she was actually going to show up. Sneddon
gave no reasons as to why she wasn't in the courtroom. He just seemed
jumpy. We were all hoping that she got cold feet, but in the end I am
glad she showed.
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I thought it was interesting that nothing was made of why she was late.
If my memory serves me correctly, when Michael was late, that's all
people talked about. Sneddon was red-faced and he seemed jittery to
me. He was obviously trying to change the subject away from her tardiness.
The defense seemed relaxed and didn't get upset. We were told she'd
show in 20 minutes, but before 5 minutes passed, they said the 2 words
that sounded like a thud to me in the courtroom, "She's here."
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I think the court gasped, but maybe it was just me. I turned around
to see if she was coming in like the other witnesses did, but quickly
noticed she was coming in from a side doorway in the front of the courtroom.
There was a silver-haired woman in the jury box just sitting there.
I concluded she was from some type of victim assistance program. I don't
know for sure, and forgot to ask.
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Mrs. Doe walked in and WE ALL CRANED our necks, moving back and forth
to see her. If we were on a boat we would have capsized. You know, like
when you're in the movies and the seats aren't set up right and you're
looking over to one side of the head that's in front of you. (Note to
one of the attorneys in the front row: COULD YOU PLEASE MOVE YOUR HEAD!
LOL!) I almost fell out of my own seat sitting all katty wampus. I stayed
in that uncomfortable position for almost 2 and a half hours. She stood
and took the oath, and then sat down. Sigh, none of us knew for sure
what was going to happen next.
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Mez walked slowly and deliberately up to the podium. Michael adjusted
his position so he was kind of on an angle, and sat up straight but
not stiff - just poised, I guess you could say. He didn't do this in
a threatening manner, but just like, "I'm looking at you and you're
seeing me." My mind raced with what was going through his mind.
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I saw her as very plain looking hair pulled back. She seemed like shed
been in that seat before. I wish I could remember the first question,
but all I remember is that her first 3 answers were "Nope,"
"Nope," and "Nope." As I am sitting here reading
my notes, I have to share what jumps off the page at me. In reply to
questions about how many times she's been put under oath, she says"
I don't know A lot." That might have been the most truthful comment
she said all morning. She continued down this line of reasoning and
almost repeated herself several times with "I dont know,"
"Frank told me," "Damage Control Team" and "He's
your guy."
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Now I must stop here to say this is the only time I saw her look in
Michael's direction. She waved her arm and pointed In the direction
of where the defense team was sitting and said, "He's your guys."
I did not see her, as Diane Diamond has reported, stare holes through
him. That didn't happen. I remember her saying, "Mr. Meserau, what
is your question?" Mez was so patient with her, but persistent.
He was excellent at getting points in, even if they were objected to
and sustained. He got them in, including J.C. Penny's, prior inconsistent
statements, and prior lawsuits. I was always clenching my fist at each
objection and then waiting for the over-ruled and would clench my fist
even tighter when I heard sustained. We heard sustained (I understand
why.) more than we heard over-ruled. So when an over-ruled came, it
was such a surprise I wanted to clap. Janet Jackson (the real Janet)
clapped for me.
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I must take a moment to share with you all how breathtakingly beautiful
Janet and Latoya are. I was so close to them. Grace is beautiful as
well in a quiet sort of dignified way. Mrs. Katherine Jackson is young
beyond her years. She is beautiful in a very graceful way. Her reactions
as Mrs. Doe was on the stand were like you'd imagine any mother's reaction
would be to a woman who you know to be less than truthful on the stand,
and (well, let me go out on a limb here) known to be a liar without
care of who she's hurting.
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My opinion is that Mrs. Doe's demeanor was not that of a mother's whose
son was molested. She was feisty. She was rude. She was evasive. She
did not make sense. We were ALL feeling frustration. Some reactions
I remember are these:
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1. When the defense team was talking about how celebrities and high
profile people are targets, Janet Jackson, Michael's sister, was nodding
her head up and down in agreement.
2. Jane Doe was asked several times if she had gone over today's hearing
with the prosecution. She said, "No" that they only met with
her to check on her health, and the health of her children. She said
they just told her to tell the truth.
3. She interrupted with a comment that someone in the first row was
being rude and whispering. One of the friends of the family said quite
bravely, (and I'm glad she did) "Are you talking about me, because
I didn't say a word!" And she hadn't. After that the bailiff then
walked up and down the aisle and watched us. It was comical to say the
least.
4. At one point she said she didn't understand Mez's question, so the
judge asked her the same question the same way and she, or course, understood.
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5. She would smile this kind of "I'm so innocent" smile everytime
she looked at the judge.
6. The judge asked (begged) Mez to break down his questions. He said,
I understand, but its obvious the witness does not. Then the judge said
in a tired tone, "I think we can use, I mean, take our morning
break!" LOL!
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So, we took our morning break.
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