Jackson Jury Pool’s Questionnaires Are Released

The judge in the Michael Jackson molestation case Wednesday released a catalog of questionnaires filled out by 243 members of the jury pool -- 2,000 pages that attorneys will study to shape the 12-member panel that will eventually decide the pop star’s fate.

The answers include such details as the potential jurors’ education and family history, as well as whether they or any close friends or relatives had been sexually abused, if they had ever been convicted of a crime, how much they know about the current case and how much they know of a 1993-94 investigation into allegations that Jackson molested another boy.

The pool picked last week from a broad cross-section of northern Santa Barbara County includes former soldiers, city workers, janitors, computer analysts and homemakers. The majority of the potential panelists were white, with about a third Latino and a half-dozen African Americans -- roughly in line with the area’s racial makeup.

Potential jurors checked boxes to answer mostly yes-or-no questions but occasionally had the chance to add detail.

“My niece-in-law’s sister has dated Ely, Michael’s cousin, and we have attended family functions with Ely,” wrote a 43-year-old woman from nearby Buellton.

On the questionnaires, a number of jury pool members reported knowing Jackson personally or having a friend or family member who knows the self-crowned “King of Pop,” statements likely to raise concerns for attorneys on both sides.

Juror 87 said his uncle is a friend of Jackson. And Juror 95 said a friend works at Jackson’s 2,700-acre Neverland ranch.

Each of the potential jurors filled out the eight-page questionnaire last week after being picked from an initial pool of 750 -- plenty, the judge said, for the prosecution and defense to seat a panel of 12 and choose eight alternates.

The questionnaire, designed by the judge to reveal key elements of jurors’ histories and psyches, sought especially to probe how much they knew about current and past child-abuse allegations against Jackson, their opinion of his lifestyle and their knowledge of the charges against him: 10 felony counts that could land Jackson, 46, in prison for two decades.

Most of the members of the pool said they had heard something about the current charges.

The questionnaire was also written to try to ferret out any Jackson friends, fans or admirers who might try to swing a verdict Jackson’s way. It also asked if the potential jurors have served in the military or law enforcement, on the theory that those with such backgrounds might be inclined to favor the prosecution.

With Santa Barbara County being home to Vandenberg Air Force Base, and adjacent Ventura County harboring a Navy base, many of the respondents worked for the military or had in the past, or had loved ones in the service.

Several members of the pool said they had visited Jackson’s ranch.

“I went to Neverland w/ special ed for my sch. dist.,” wrote Juror No. 10, a schoolteacher.

“My disabled daughter was allowed to go to Neverland, but Mr. Jackson was not present during her school visit,” wrote Juror No. 243, a risk analyst.

One question asked: “Have you, your relatives, or anybody close to you ever been diagnosed with any form of cancer?” Jackson’s accuser, who is now 15, was being treated for cancer when prosecutors say the singer molested him.

Attorneys plan to soon begin further questioning the would-be jurors, a process that is expected to last several weeks.

The trial, which began last week, is in recess after the death of the sister of lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. Jury selection is expected to resume next week.

Although Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville has struggled for a year to make the trial run smoothly, Jackson’s fame again affected proceedings Wednesday.

In response to requests, Melville released the jury questionnaires to a media “pool producer” responsible for e-mailing the information to copy shops in cities around the world. On Wednesday morning, Peter Shaplen did so about 9:30 a.m.

Reporters in Santa Maria and some other places received the document, but Kinko’s corporate headquarters in Dallas became involved and ordered its stores not to release the document.

“We did have a hiccup this morning, no question,” said Shaplen. “It was nothing that a single phone call to the right person couldn’t fix. I called the PR people at FedEx in Dallas and we were back in business.”

Maggie Thill, Kinko’s director of public relations, said she didn’t know if Jackson’s role and the nature of the case prompted concern.

“It took us a few minutes to fact-find,” Thill said, noting that the documents are private and being released only to credentialed reporters covering the case. “It was more ensuring privacy, that only those who were supposed to get them got them.”