Jackson jury faces fourth day of deliberations
Media attorneys ask public disclosure of jury question
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- The jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial will be back at work Wednesday after deliberating for six hours Tuesday without coming to a decision on the 10 felony charges against the pop star.
The eight women and four men on the jury have now deliberated for a total of 14 hours over three days.
They will return Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) to resume their discussions.
As the jurors worked inside the Santa Maria courthouse Tuesday, dozens of Jackson's fans held a vigil outside, many waving homemade signs of support and a few even breaking into dance.
Jackson wasn't at the Santa Maria courthouse, but his spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, turned up to give reporters an update on the entertainer's mood as jury deliberations moved through a third day.
"He exudes a great sense of confidence in the jury as being fair," Jesse Jackson said. "Michael anxiously awaits the jury's verdict, but anticipates acquittal."
Michael Jackson is not required to attend deliberations, and his spokeswoman has said he planned to await the verdict with his family at Neverland Ranch, about an hour away.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said an ambulance will be on hand at the courthouse. Sources said that was routinely done for events with large crowds and had nothing to do with Jackson's health issues.
The singer has sought hospital treatment twice in the past week.
The panel spent about two hours considering the case on Friday and six hours on Monday.
Meanwhile, attorneys for a consortium of media outlets, including CNN, asked Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to release the verdict form provided the jury and to disclose the contents of any questions the jury asks.
The court notified reporters Monday that jurors had asked a question, but its content was not released.
In a motion filed with the court, attorneys for the media argued that jurors' questions "are as much a part of the court proceedings and the trial testimony and closing arguments," which take place in public.
Melville held a private hearing to resolve the jury's question, according to the media consortium's motion, which asked that a transcript of the hearing be released immediately.
"The court barred the public from the courtroom during these proceedings without holding a hearing or making express findings that would justify this restriction on public access," the motion said.
The attorneys also argued that the verdict form, which "establishes the framework for any verdict by the jury," is a judicial record that is presumed to be public under the First Amendment and California law.
"Public access to the form now will enable the press to better understand and accurately report and explain the verdict when it is read in open court," the motion said.
The jury is reviewing 14 weeks of testimony by more than 130 witnesses to determine whether the pop star is a sexual predator of young boys or a victim of a con.
A grand jury indicted Jackson in April 2004 on charges of child molestation and other crimes stemming from alleged incidents involving his accuser, then 13, and his family in February and March 2003.
Jackson pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not take the stand during the trial.
CNN's Dree De Clamecy and Ted Rowlands contributed to this report.
