Accuser’s mother heightens courtroom drama

Santa Maria, Calif. — In a riveting episode of courtroom drama, the mother of Michael Jackson’s accuser sobbed, implored jurors not to judge her and exclaimed: “I’ve waited two years for this!”

If Jackson’s child molestation trial were being televised, some might have scoffed that she was playing to the cameras. But there are no cameras inside this trial, which is shaping up as one of the wildest in California’s colorful history of jurisprudence.

The boy’s mother is not the first witness in the trial to treat the courtroom as a personal stage. Comedians kept the mood light with wisecracks, a lawyer sparred verbally with an attorney questioning him, and even the judge has been known to offer a few quips.

But the mother was the most dramatic yet, her demeanor changing each day.

Beyond the vivid courtroom scenes, she is perhaps as important as her son to the prosecution’s case. Without her, the conspiracy count against Jackson would probably fail. Prosecutors claim the pop star conspired to isolate and control the boy’s family — a count that lists 28 alleged overt acts, 20 of which are based on the woman’s story.

Her credibility also reflects on her children’s testimony, most importantly her son’s claims of molestation, since the defense is likely to argue that she coached them to lie. Her son alleges that Jackson, 46, molested him in early 2003, when he was 13 and recovering from cancer.

Jackson denies all of it and his lawyer is challenging the mother’s credibility.

In her first day on the stand, she extended her arms to jurors and implored: “Please don’t judge me.”

She almost scuttled her entire testimony by invoking Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination if asked about welfare fraud and perjury. The judge told jurors to draw no inferences from the refusal but said the defense may explore the issues through other witnesses.

On the second day, she outlined her allegations that the family was held captive by Jackson employees, saying they told her she was pursued by “killers” who would only be appeased if she and her family made a video to counter a documentary called “Living With Michael Jackson,” in which Jackson acknowledged he let children sleep in his bed in a nonsexual way.

By Friday, she was complaining to the jury about the aggressive cross-examination by Jackson’s attorney. When the judge told her to stop making speeches, she protested: “I’ve waited two years for this!”

Jackson’s attorney will resume cross-examining the mother today.

Nugent goes ballistic

Houston — With an assault weapon in each hand, rocker and gun-rights advocate Ted Nugent urged National Rifle Assn. members to be “hardcore, radical extremists demanding the right to self-defense.”

Speaking at the NRA’s annual convention Saturday, Nugent drew the most cheers when he told gun owners they should never give up their right to bear arms and should use their guns to protect themselves if needed.

“Remember the Alamo! Shoot ’em!” he screamed to applause. “To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want ’em dead. Get a gun, and when they attack you, shoot ’em.”

Divorce papers filed

Los Angeles — “Sideways” co-star Sandra Oh has filed for divorce from husband Alexander Payne, who directed and co-wrote the film.

Oh, 34, filed a petition for divorce Friday and asked for spousal support.

She and Payne, 44, were married in January 2003. The couple announced their separation last month.

Payne won an Oscar for the screenplay of “Sideways,” about two friends’ wine-tasting trip through Santa Barbara County vineyards.

Oh stars in ABC’s television series “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Playing Bush on Broadway

Los Angeles — Keith Carradine as George W. Bush?

Carradine will portray the president in the American premiere of David Hare’s play about the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“Stuff Happens” had its world premiere last September in London, opening to positive reviews.

The title comes from a comment made in April 2003 by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in response to looting in Baghdad: “Stuff happens … and it’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.”