Psychologist Testifies About Interview of Jackson's Accuser

On Wednesday, a clinical psychologist took to the stand and told the jury that a famed civil attorney, who had sued Michael Jackson in 1993 over claims of child molestation, considered filing a suit against the entertainer again on behalf of another client of his, the current accuser in the present case. Famed psychologist Stanley J. Katz testified that in the summer of 2003 lawyer Larry Feldman referred the boy to him for an interview. Following three interviews of the teen and his family, Katz and Feldman reported the confessed to abuse to Los Angeles authorities on June 12 and 13, 2003. The boy had alleged that Jackson had molested him in February and March 2003 at the singer's Neverland Valley Ranch. Upon cross-examination, lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau questioned Katz on his recollection of a discussion he had with a Santa Barbara County detective the day after the allegations were reported. "It was your belief when you talked to him that Mr. Feldman was filing a lawsuit against Mr. Jackson, right?" Mr. Mesereau asked. "It was my belief that he was thinking about filing a lawsuit," Mr. Katz replied. This admission helped bolster the defense's contention that the accuser and his family are after Jackson's money. The defense has maintained that the molestation allegations surfaced only after the teen's mother failed to get some kind of pay off or compensation for her family's participation in the Martin Bashir documentary. However, prosecutors have insisted that the family is uninterested in any financial rewards, at times citing the boy's mother's claim that she does not want the "devil's money." Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen questioned the psychologist for a brief eight minutes, using the time to establish that Katz had interviewed the family and then reported to authorities the suspected abuse. Also during the course of testimony, it was learned that Katz had also been involved with Feldman in the 1993 civil suit against Jackson. Katz testified that he had reviewed interview tapes between a doctor and Jackson's first accuser, and reported back to Feldman. Taking the stand next was William Dickerman, the attorney who represented the accuser and his family for about three months before referring them to Feldman in May 2003. Dickerman admitted on the stand that he has an agreement with Feldman to share fees should the family successfully launch a civil suit against Jackson relating to this case. Jamie Masada, owner of the comedy club "The Laugh Factory," testified on Tuesday that he had referred the accuser's mother to Dickerman, instead of calling the police, when she complained to him about being held hostage by the Jackson camp. The family, together with Masada, met with Dickerman four times at either the comedy club or the lawyer's office. This was during the period that the family claims they were being held against their will at Jackson's estate and at a Calabasas hotel. Dickerman testified that the mother had retained him as the family’s lawyer on March 24, 2003, and that she told him that Jackson and his associates had seized the family's belongings and were refusing to return them. Two days later, Dickerman began the first of a number of letters to Jackson's then attorney Mark Geragos, informing him that he wanted harassment of the family to cease and their property returned to them. Mesereau reviewed each letter with Dickerman, asking if there had been any mention of molestation, alcohol consumption, false imprisonment, or extortion within any of the 10 letters sent. To each question, Dickerman provided an answer of "No," and explained that his role was to get the family's things back. Also revealed in court was that two days following his retention, Dickerman began sending letters to television companies involved in production of Bashir's documentary or who were airing it in the United States, demanding that they not broadcast it unless consent had been obtained from the family. When asked by Mesereau if these letters were for laying groundwork for royalty negotiations, Dickerman insisted that they were for ending the exploitation of his clients. Santa Barbara District Attorney Thomas Sneddon announced at the end of court on Wednesday that he intended to call witnesses for the "past bad acts" from the 1993 case beginning on Monday. Court is not in session today due to the California holiday dedicated to César Chávez. Feldman is expected to take the stand on Friday. Source: Santa Barbara News-Press/eMJey