Jackson defence rests its case

Jackson defence rests its case. What so fast ?

|| The defence has rested its case in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial without putting the pop star on the stand, wrapping up after a surprisingly short three weeks devoted mostly to portraying the accuser’s mother as a fraudster who targeted celebrities.

Jurors could begin as early as the middle of next week to decide whether Mr Jackson should be convicted of molesting a teenage cancer patient at his Neverland ranch.

Defence lawyers portrayed the pop star as the victim of false charges that surfaced once the boy’s mother realised she was being weaned from a lavish lifestyle that the singer had financed. A series of witnesses testified that the mother had made a career of getting money from celebrities and defrauding others.

Michael Jackson did not take the stand, as defencee lawyers had hinted at the trial’s start, and only a few of the celebrities who were on the list of possible witnesses ended up in court. Absent were Elizabeth Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and Kobe Bryant.

The actor and comedia Chris Tucker was the final witness for the defence today, saying that during the time he befriended Mr Jackson’s young accuser he found the boy to be unusually sophisticated and cunning for a 12-year-old.

"He was really smart and he was cunning at times, and his brother ... was definitely cunning," Mr Tucker said. ||

news

Jackson was 'an angel' .. NOT

Last Modified: 20 May 2005
Source: ITN

The mother of Michael Jackson's young accuser has described the singer as an "angel" and claimed his friendship with her son was innocent, the pop star's child molestation trial heard.

Actress Azja Pryor, the ex-fiancee of movie star Chris Tucker, said the mother of Michael Jackson's accuser praised the singer as an angel and was eager to participate in a 2003 video defending his reputation.

The testimony comes after the judge refused to allow the defence to call CNN's Larry King as a witness.

Jackson's defence has already had to cut down on the number of witnesses it wanted to call after the judge expressed concerns over how long it would take to hear their testimony.

Earlier, Michael Jackson's 12-year-old cousin has said he saw the singer's accuser watching porn with his brother at the Neverland Ranch.

Rijo Jackson told the child molestation trial in Santa Maria: "I saw them go to the TV, turn to a channel that had naked girls, and they did nasty stuff."

Rijo, who was ten at the time, claimed he saw Gavin Arvizo and his brother masturbating while spending a single night in the same guest unit with them in February or March of 2003.

The boys were in the sleeping area of Jackson's bedroom drinking wine by themselves, Rijo added.

California Puppy Lemon Law

Puppy Lemon Laws have become more and more common as mall pet stores become more common. As dog lovers are thrilled to see more people enjoying the companionship of dogs, the demand has created an industry that has more than its share of problems. Puppy Lemon Laws are an effort to address some of these problems.

All Puppy Lemon Laws give dog purchasers the right to return a sick or dead puppy for a refund or replacement. Most also give consumers the option of retaining the puppy, having it treated and getting some level of reimbursement for veterinary expenses from the seller.

California Law
This Law is the most hard on sellers of unhealthy dogs, but hobby breeders do not fall under its provisions except for the extremely active ones. As with the Florida Law, it is important to note that costs of testing to certify a dog unhealthy could double what a seller is obligated to refund to the purchaser. It is also important to note that this Law obligates the seller to cover 11Ž2 times the purchase price of the dog in veterinary expenses should the purchaser elect to have the dog treated.

Pros: long period in which to find congenital or hereditary conditions.

Update 4-6-2001 Pertains to anyone who sold, transferred, or given away two or more litters during the preceding calendar year. See: AB 161

Cons: obligation to cover veterinary expenses above the purchase price of the dog may be considered punitive.

Applies to: any one who sells more than 50 dogs per year.
Contagious or Infectious Disease: 15 days
Congenital or Hereditary Defects: 1 year
Failure to Produced Advertised Registration Papers: yes, within 120 days, otherwise return dog for full refund or receive refund of 75% of purchase price if you keep the dog.
Replacement: yes, plus reimbursement for veterinary expenses related to certifying the dogs illness up to the price of the dog including sales tax.
Refund: yes, plus reimbursement for veterinary expenses related to certifying the dogs illness up to the price of the dog including sales tax.
Reimbursement of Veterinary Expenses to Treat Dog: yes, up to 150% of the purchase price of the dog plus sales tax.
A STATEMENT OF CALIFORNIA LAW GOVERNING THE SALE OF DOGS

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Domestic partner law changes in California

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A California law granting domestic partners nearly identical legal rights as married couples does not conflict with a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, a state appeals court ruled.

California's domestic partner law represents the nation's most sweeping recognition of domestic partner rights short of Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legalized, and Vermont, which recognizes civil unions for gay couples. It grants registered couples virtually every spousal right under state law except the ability to file joint income taxes.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal said Monday that the law did not undermine Proposition 22, the 2000 initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. That measure was "intended only to limit the status of marriage to heterosexual couples and to prevent the recognition in California of homosexual marriages," the three-judge panel said.

The ruling upheld a trial judge's decision in favor of the domestic partner law, which was signed by former Gov. Gray Davis. There are now about 29,000 couples registered as domestic partners, according to the secretary of state's office.

CNN

California law and ID theft

California residents have the ultimate weapon against identity theft — but few know it.

That may be changing, however, as a rash of security breaches putting personal information at risk has heightened public concern about privacy.

The weapon is a little-known California law — the only one of its kind in effect — allowing residents to freeze access to their credit reports. Such a step effectively prevents identity thieves from opening unauthorized credit accounts in the names of their victims.

Inquiries about the law, which took effect in 2003, have risen dramatically in the last few months, state officials said. And it has generated attention across the country as well: This year, 22 states considered legislation that allows consumers to freeze their credit reports.

"It's like the rise in sales in paper shredders," said state Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), who sponsored the original California bill. Once privacy concerns rise to a certain point, "suddenly, everyone has to have one."

A credit-report freeze costs $30 — $10 each to the three major national credit bureaus — and involves a certain amount of paperwork. But consumers planning to seek credit can, with a few days' notice and another $30, suspend the freeze whenever they wish.


Three other states have passed similar laws. A Louisiana law that is set to take effect July 1 will allow residents there to freeze access to their credit reports. In Texas and Vermont, freezes are available only to people who have been victimized by identity theft.

That was the original notion behind the California bill.

"It was to stop the victimization of people who had spent months getting their credit cleaned up after an identity theft attack," Bowen said, "only to have it happen again."

Non-victims were added to the bill, Bowen said, for special cases, such as when people want to freeze their elderly parents' credit reports to protect them from investment scams.

latimes

Elton John to wed

Elton John's publicist tells the BBC (cited here via the Atlanta Journal Constitution) that the singer intends to marry his long-time partner sometime next year in Great Britain.
New laws recognizing gay civil partnerships take effect in Britain on Dec. 5. According to the article:

"The law, which is only applicable to homosexuals and not as an alternative to heterosexual marriage, grants lesbian and gay couples the same tax, pension, and inheritance status as married couples."

Gay marriages. Hmm. It will never happen in Malaysia for another 100 years. Via lazycat