On June 13, 2005, after deliberating for eight full days, a jury of twelve ordinary people returned to that Santa Barbara courtroom and delivered the same answer fourteen times in a row.
NOT GUILTY. NOT GUILTY. NOT GUILTY. ALL THE WAY DOWN THE LIST.
These were not Michael Jackson fans. They were a physical therapy aide, a civil engineer, a Department of Social Services supervisor, and three retirees.
Among them were women who had personally experienced sexual abuse themselves. People who understood exactly what was at stake. People who had no reason to protect a celebrity and every reason to convict one if the evidence had been there.
It was not there.
Thomas Mesereau, the attorney who led Michael’s defense, systematically dismantled the prosecution’s case.
Michael Jackson’s defense attorney reveals why he said no to Netflix series
The accuser’s DNA was not found anywhere in Michael’s bedroom. The dates of the alleged crimes had to be changed by prosecutors because the accuser’s own story kept shifting. The accuser’s mother performed so poorly on the witness stand that jurors publicly said her behaviour made them deeply uncomfortable.
MESEREAU CROSS-EXAMINED WITNESSES SO EFFECTIVELY THAT THE PROSECUTION’S ENTIRE FOUNDATION CRACKED OPEN IN FRONT OF THE JURY.
The verdict was not a close call. It was unanimous.
Now in June 2026, with the Michael Jackson biopic breaking records and a new generation discovering his story, Netflix has released a three-part documentary called Michael Jackson: The Verdict, revisiting the same trial all over again.
The full story of the 2005 verdict — what the jury actually decided
The timing of this documentary is suspicious.
Critics who have reviewed it have already noted that the series feels hastily assembled to ride the wave of the biopic’s success rather than to uncover anything genuinely new.
One reviewer described it as a project that rarely goes beyond information that has been publicly available for years.
A small chunk of Mesereau’s actual court appearances has been included in the Netflix series, BUT HE HAS NOT PARTICIPATED IN ANY WAY IN THE DOCUMENTARY. And the reason is because Michael is already exonerated for every charge, and it’s unfair to open his case again. There have been enough documentaries already!
Michael Jackson fans have been asking a pointed question since the trailer dropped. A jury heard everything. They deliberated for eight days. They cle