The verdict by a jury of his fans: Jackson Innocent

Devoted fans have come from Japan, Poland and Germany, and for them this California town is the pop culture mecca of the moment. It is also home to a media circus, with some 20 satellite trucks parked alongside the two-story courthouse. News organizations from at least 30 countries are represented and have set up portable studios on rooftops, in trucks, under tents.

Outside the courthouse, the crowd of fans has grown daily as the case nears conclusion; the jury began deliberations Friday afternoon and completed the first full day on Monday.

For Phyllis Avant, it is all about the morality and religious themes she hears in Mr. Jackson's songs. Ms. Avant, 56, stands dressed all in white, with a gold armband, a laminated picture of Mr. Jackson around her neck and Michael Jackson earrings. She is taking time off from her job as a copy editor at a publishing business that she would not identify, back in South Carolina, where she lives.

She said this was the first time she had taken such a public stand as a supporter of a cause.

"I don't believe he is guilty," she said firmly.

Andzia, who would not give her last name and who said she was studying computer programming, has come from Gniezno, Poland. She has already taken all her vacation time and is using sick days to remain here. She has been to Santa Maria four times now.

"I really believe he is innocent," Andzia said, adding that she had been a fan since Mr. Jackson's album "Thriller," released 23 years ago. "Through the years you get to know him," she said.

A banner of hers caught Mr. Jackson's eye one day, she said, and he took it with him when leaving the courthouse. Her current sign says, "Poland loves you, Michael."

For Mr. Jackson's fans, the tie to him is often very personal. Mouna - "just Mouna from Switzerland," she said - has been at the trial on and off for six weeks. She carries a poster with his picture next to those of Mandela, Gandhi and King, and says Mr. Jackson has special significance for her, as a biracial woman who grew up in a mostly white community.

"He's a black man," said the 28-year-old Mouna, who recalled how popular he was when she was in school. "It's not like I wasn't happy to be black, but he helped me. From then on, he really had an impact on me personally."

(Published: The New York Times, June 7, 2005)
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