Michael Jackson is charged with regaling the boy with alcohol in 2003 when the boy was 13, molesting him four times and conspiring to abduct and extort the boy and his family. Jackson has pleaded innocent. He has said the teenagers and their mother are lying to gain money from him in a potential civil lawsuit.

In eight days of harsh cross-examination, Jackson’s attorney Tom Mesereau succeeded in implanting doubt in the courtroom. Mesereau made progress toward getting a hung jury but is short of persuading the jury to acquit Jackson, Robert Massi, a Las Vegas lawyer analyzing the trial for Fox News, says. He discredited the children’s testimony that the family "escaped" from Jackson’s Neverland Valley Ranch. He also showed the tape recording on which the family denies insinuations that any wrongdoing happened. While questioning, the teens confirmed the faithfulness of the video saying that Jackson had really helped them.

The critical point about whether to allow evidence that Jackson allegedly molested other children will be cleared out at the hearing March 28, as Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has scheduled. The decision will depend on whether Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon shows enough early evidence that the molestation charges are true.

The authorized testimony about previous alleged sex offences can put the trial on the new rail.