Jury Finds That Jackson Didn’t Steal ‘Dangerous’

For the second time in as many months, Michael Jackson was exonerated Tuesday in a lawsuit that accused him of stealing someone else’s song.

It took a U.S. District Court jury 3 1/2 hours to find Jackson not guilty of copyright infringement for his hit “Dangerous.” Denver songwriter Crystal Cartier had alleged that Jackson stole her song after hearing a demonstration tape.

Jackson took the stand Monday and testified that he wrote “Dangerous” while listening to the bass track from another of his songs. He said no one helped him write it, and he denied ever hearing Cartier’s song before she filed her lawsuit.

On Jan. 12, a Los Angeles jury found in Jackson’s favor in a similar lawsuit involving his hits “Thriller,” “The Girl Is Mine” and “We Are the World.”

Cartier was not present when the verdict was read. She left the courtroom in tears earlier Tuesday during the closing argument of Jackson’s attorney, Dan Hoffman.

Cartier’s testimony contained discrepancies and revealed “a fundamental reality that simply doesn’t exist,” Hoffman said.