elusive moonwalker
Guest
from facebook
I arrived at the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles around 9am. Several MJ fans were already in front of the building with banners…some from around the world which was amazing. At the same time, unknown to us arriving, there was another protest that came as far as Oakland for the alleged police brutality of Oscar Grant. They moved the officer’s who killed him down to Los Angeles because it was felt he couldn’t get a fair trial in Oakland. We were outnumbered support wise, but the supporters who came down for Grant, supported Michael as well…so we weren’t exactly alone.
Jump ahead to about 11:30am, by now there’s a lot of MJ fans, all catching up with each other, and supporting each other. The court clerk comes out to give lottery tickets for a seat in the courtroom, there were 10 seats up for grabs(more than last time). I got number#29…and to my surprise, I got in. I was in shock, and at the same time a little nervous because I was now going to have the chance to see everything up close and in person. Several other MJ fans like Amy, April, and Jamie also won tickets inside, so we were all there for each other and The Jackson family, who sat right in front of us. The mood as we made our way up to the 9th floor was tense. Most of the fans who couldn’t get into the courtroom, followed us upstairs…again a lot of love and support from everybody. Once the 10 of us walked inside the courtroom, the Jackson family was already sitting down. Katherine and Joe Jackson, LaToya, Randy, Jermaine, his wife, and 2 of his sons were all in attendance. As we made our way through, I made eye contact with Jermaine’s son Jermaine II and gave him a nod like “we’re here for you guys, and we love you” he smiled back. I also said hello to Joe Jackson; very emotional.
As things progressed on through the hearing, and you already know the story, it felt to me at the time that we were all in a no win situation. Conrad Murray’s lawyers….ugh…*trying to control my temper*…a lot of ass kissing, and statements that made us all gasp, like “Dr. Murray should have the right to continue helping people…” that got a reaction from us like “Are you ******* kidding me?...”. Then what made it worse, the lawyers for The People were so laxed. They weren’t as strong as Murray’s Lawyers, although they made good points with the Judge, they could’ve brought the heat on much better. Once the judge made it clear by reading the law(twice) of why he couldn’t overturn the 1st judge’s decision to not revoke Murray’s license, I got really depressed. He at least gave the option to the Attorney General’s office to file or start their own investigation if they wished.
What made it worse for me, was the fact BOTH sides were being so careless about setting a date for the next P. hearing. Someone from Murray’s camp suggested mid-November, another lawyer from the People’s side said somewhere between September and October. Finally, the Judge said “This is a very important case, not just for the Jackson Family, but for the people…we need to set something sooner” I couldn’t agree more…it’s bad enough we lost Michael almost a year ago, and still NOTHING has been done. The Jackson family more than deserves answers and so do the fans. A date was finally set for August 23rd at 12:30pm to see if there’s even enough evidence to go to trial…and with that, it was all over.
I came out of the courtroom emotionally drained, I couldn’t talk to anyone. Just felt so much sadness for The Jackson Family, and you could see it in their eyes. As they were leaving, not one sound from any of them. Once we were in the hallway, I could see all of our fellow MJ fans down the hall watching us come down; it was hard to look at anyone without feeling like I was gonna break down. A larger group of fans by now had congregated to the courthouse entrance downstairs and were waiting for us to come out. I talked with one reporter who was pro-Jackson, I had nothing to say to the other media. Some of us cried, most if not all hugged each other…and that meant so much to me. It really stands out to me more than ever, that if you can come to L.A. August 23rd or think you’ll be in the area at that time…PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT MICHAEL AND HIS FAMILY. They need us, and he doesn’t have a voice anymore. We really need all the support we can get please.
The one positive thing of the day that stood out to me, was later in the afternoon after a group of us had gone to eat, it was decided that we would hang a few large banners we had over the south bound Hollywood 101 Freeway. Very congested road during rush hour. From the moment we hung those banners, and threw up the peace signs…the cars passing below were honking like crazy. Most even threw up peace signs themselves. People of all races, creeds across the board…that’s when it really hit me how much Michael had an effect on the world. That’s why it’s more important than ever, no matter what’s happening right now…we need to stand strong as fans, and we’ve got to show in every way we can, that we STILL care…we want justice for Michael….period.
I arrived at the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles around 9am. Several MJ fans were already in front of the building with banners…some from around the world which was amazing. At the same time, unknown to us arriving, there was another protest that came as far as Oakland for the alleged police brutality of Oscar Grant. They moved the officer’s who killed him down to Los Angeles because it was felt he couldn’t get a fair trial in Oakland. We were outnumbered support wise, but the supporters who came down for Grant, supported Michael as well…so we weren’t exactly alone.
Jump ahead to about 11:30am, by now there’s a lot of MJ fans, all catching up with each other, and supporting each other. The court clerk comes out to give lottery tickets for a seat in the courtroom, there were 10 seats up for grabs(more than last time). I got number#29…and to my surprise, I got in. I was in shock, and at the same time a little nervous because I was now going to have the chance to see everything up close and in person. Several other MJ fans like Amy, April, and Jamie also won tickets inside, so we were all there for each other and The Jackson family, who sat right in front of us. The mood as we made our way up to the 9th floor was tense. Most of the fans who couldn’t get into the courtroom, followed us upstairs…again a lot of love and support from everybody. Once the 10 of us walked inside the courtroom, the Jackson family was already sitting down. Katherine and Joe Jackson, LaToya, Randy, Jermaine, his wife, and 2 of his sons were all in attendance. As we made our way through, I made eye contact with Jermaine’s son Jermaine II and gave him a nod like “we’re here for you guys, and we love you” he smiled back. I also said hello to Joe Jackson; very emotional.
As things progressed on through the hearing, and you already know the story, it felt to me at the time that we were all in a no win situation. Conrad Murray’s lawyers….ugh…*trying to control my temper*…a lot of ass kissing, and statements that made us all gasp, like “Dr. Murray should have the right to continue helping people…” that got a reaction from us like “Are you ******* kidding me?...”. Then what made it worse, the lawyers for The People were so laxed. They weren’t as strong as Murray’s Lawyers, although they made good points with the Judge, they could’ve brought the heat on much better. Once the judge made it clear by reading the law(twice) of why he couldn’t overturn the 1st judge’s decision to not revoke Murray’s license, I got really depressed. He at least gave the option to the Attorney General’s office to file or start their own investigation if they wished.
What made it worse for me, was the fact BOTH sides were being so careless about setting a date for the next P. hearing. Someone from Murray’s camp suggested mid-November, another lawyer from the People’s side said somewhere between September and October. Finally, the Judge said “This is a very important case, not just for the Jackson Family, but for the people…we need to set something sooner” I couldn’t agree more…it’s bad enough we lost Michael almost a year ago, and still NOTHING has been done. The Jackson family more than deserves answers and so do the fans. A date was finally set for August 23rd at 12:30pm to see if there’s even enough evidence to go to trial…and with that, it was all over.
I came out of the courtroom emotionally drained, I couldn’t talk to anyone. Just felt so much sadness for The Jackson Family, and you could see it in their eyes. As they were leaving, not one sound from any of them. Once we were in the hallway, I could see all of our fellow MJ fans down the hall watching us come down; it was hard to look at anyone without feeling like I was gonna break down. A larger group of fans by now had congregated to the courthouse entrance downstairs and were waiting for us to come out. I talked with one reporter who was pro-Jackson, I had nothing to say to the other media. Some of us cried, most if not all hugged each other…and that meant so much to me. It really stands out to me more than ever, that if you can come to L.A. August 23rd or think you’ll be in the area at that time…PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT MICHAEL AND HIS FAMILY. They need us, and he doesn’t have a voice anymore. We really need all the support we can get please.
The one positive thing of the day that stood out to me, was later in the afternoon after a group of us had gone to eat, it was decided that we would hang a few large banners we had over the south bound Hollywood 101 Freeway. Very congested road during rush hour. From the moment we hung those banners, and threw up the peace signs…the cars passing below were honking like crazy. Most even threw up peace signs themselves. People of all races, creeds across the board…that’s when it really hit me how much Michael had an effect on the world. That’s why it’s more important than ever, no matter what’s happening right now…we need to stand strong as fans, and we’ve got to show in every way we can, that we STILL care…we want justice for Michael….period.
