Jackson’s Back after flu

LOS ANGELES: The long process of selecting jury for Michael Jackson’s child abuse case resumed yesterday. This is not the first time the selction has been delayed. The judge vowed that there would be no more delays in the case.

The King of Pop returnedto the court his usual self looking fully recovered from the “flu like symptoms” that led to his hospitalization and a weeks suspension of the proceedings of the case.

“I know the energy it takes - I know just how you’re feeling . . . the let down,” Judge Melville said, while stressing the pop superstar’s illness had been genuine and that he would never tolerate unnecessary disruptions. “Jackson was sick, I talked to his doctor,” the judge said. “I wouldn’t let anybody take advantage of us that way.”

The judge also revealed an expansion of the defense team’s already star-studded list of potential witnesses, with Macaulay Culkin, Smokey Robinson and Eddie Murphy joining the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross. Jackson’s return to the courthouse jump-started the stalled process of selecting the 12 men and women of the jury who will decide whether he should spend up to 20 years behind bars.

Jackson, 46, is accused of fondling a 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol and attempting to kidnap him and his family two years ago.