Michael Jackson was treated at a local hospital Tuesday for flulike symptoms, delaying jury selection in his child-molestation trial for one week.
On his way to the morning session in court, Jackson detoured to the emergency room at Marian Medical Center, about a mile-and-a-half from the courthouse.
At a brief news conference, Dr. Chuck Merrill, an emergency-room physician at the hospital, said the singer had been vomiting and was being treated with intravenous fluids. Merrill said Jackson would be released “when he’s stable and ready.”
Citing confidentiality concerns, hospital officials gave no additional information.
Jackson’s brother Randy told reporters that Michael would spend the night in the hospital.
More than 100 prospective jurors awaited Jackson’s appearance for about 30 minutes Tuesday morning before they were released until next Tuesday by Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville.
Jackson “will have ample time to get well, and you will all have ample time to get sick, I guess,” the judge quipped, drawing a big laugh.
Outside the hospital, about 50 journalists and two dozen Jackson fans waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the ailing entertainer. An avid fan, Sheree Wilkins, 33, said it was no coincidence that Jackson’s illness came at the start of jury selection.
“It’s the heartbreak and the stress,” said Wilkins, a former Los Angeles teacher who said she moved to Santa Maria to support Jackson. “They know they don’t have a case, so they’re just going to stress him to death.”
