Michael Jackson was due back in a California courtroom today for a second day of jury selection in his child molestation case.
Jackson has so far sat silently at the defense table as Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville questioned prospective jurors, but legal experts say the influence of his celebrity has already been felt.
Of the 314 people summoned to Melville's courtroom yesterday, 176 said they were willing to set aside jobs and families to hear a trial that could last six months.
Another 138 people asked to be excused, citing work or school commitments, financial hardship, health problems or other issues.
Court officials declined to say how many Melville had agreed to release. A grand jury handed down a 10-count indictment against Jackson in April, charging him with lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and conspiring to commit the crimes of abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.
The indictment stems from accusations made by a recovering cancer patient, now aged 15, seen holding hands with Jackson at his Neverland Valley Ranch in a controversial documentary that aired on ABC and British television in February 2003.
Jackson has pleaded innocent to the charges and said he will be acquitted and vindicated at trial.