First phase of Jackson jury selection ends quickly

The judge in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial abruptly ended the first phase of jury selection on Tuesday - a day ahead of schedule - after quickly finding a pool of about 250 people willing to serve on the case.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville put the pool together in just a day and a half, then adjourned court until next Monday, when prosecutors and Mr Jackson's attorneys will begin questioning the would-be jurors more closely.

"I think we have enough (potential) jurors," Judge Melville told the attorneys and Mr Jackson before dismissing them shortly before noon on Tuesday (2000 GMT).

The judge must ultimately swear in a jury of 12 people to sit through the trial and weigh the evidence against the 46-year-old Mr Jackson, who is charged with molesting a young boy at his Neverland Valley Ranch and conspiring to commit extortion, child abduction and false imprisonment.

Mr Jackson has pleaded innocent to the charges and vowed to be acquitted and vindicated at trial.

It could take about a month before a panel, including eight alternate jurors, is chosen to hear the case, legal experts said.

The entertainer could face more than 30 years in prison if he is convicted on all 10 counts of the indictment against him from a Santa Barbara County grand jury. His accuser is a boy, now 15, seen with the performer in a 2003 documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir.

Mr Jackson attended both days of the proceedings, waving to fans and flashing a victory sign as he came and went, but did not address the court. On Tuesday, he smiled cheerfully, dressed in a black suit and a white vest, as the prospective jurors filed into the room.

While Judge Melville appeared pleased to have chosen his pool of 250 possible jurors in less than two days, legal experts said the remarkable willingness of so many people to serve on a six-month child molestation case could complicate matters for all sides.

"I think people want to be on this jury and that's terrible for the prosecution," former San Francisco prosecutor Jim Hammer, now a media analyst following the Jackson case, said. "The district attorney wants reluctant jurors. People who have families, lives, jobs. People who are invested in the community."

Mr Hammer said jurors eager to serve on the case may have a hidden agenda that will be difficult for Judge Melville or the attorneys to discern and could influence their verdict.

When the would-be jurors return on Monday, they will be questioned at length about their opinions of Mr Jackson, knowledge of the case, ability to be fair and willingness to sit through sometimes graphic testimony about sexual abuse.

Mr Jackson's young accuser and members of his family are expected to take the witness stand during the trial. Defence attorneys have not said if Mr Jackson will testify.