Michael Jackson arrived late to his trial Thursday to face a judge who threatened to arrest him and revoke his $3 million bail, but the judge resumed the case apparently without taking any action against the singer.
Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville had issued an arrest warrant when Jackson failed to arrive on time, but told defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. he would hold it for one hour.
Mesereau, who told the judge Jackson had suffered a severe back problem and was being treated at a hospital, paced outside court and talked on his cell phone until the singer arrived, a few minutes past the deadline.
Jackson walked in gingerly, dressed in a jacket over pajamas and looked distressed.
Attorneys met with the judge in chambers before court resumed and Melville addressed the jury.
"Mr. Jackson had a medical problem and it was necessary for me to order his appearance," Melville said.
He said he didn't want jurors to draw any negative inferences from the fact that Jackson did not appear or that the judge had to order him to appear.
"The trial is going to go forward. In doing that I'm not expressing any opinion about the case or Mr. Jackson or the district attorney." Melville said.
Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said outside court that Jackson woke up around 4:30 a.m. and his "back gave out on him." She said he notified his attorney and others and was rushed to an emergency room, arriving at 5:45 a.m. She said Jackson had wanted to be in court to hear from his accuser, who took the stand Wednesday.
"I talked to Mr. Jackson about four or five times yesterday. He was not intimated at all. He is wanting to be in court every day. This is about his life. This is not a joke to him.
"He knows the seriousness of this. He's not play acting," she said.
The 15-year-old accuser returned to the stand and testified about a TV documentary in which he appeared with Jackson, showed them holding hands and then putting his head on Jackson's shoulder. The boy was a 13-year-old cancer survivor at the time.
Source: AP/eMJey