Getting Michael's Ear

By Jeffrey Ressner

At his arraignment last week on grand jury charges in his child molestation case, Michael Jackson had a new, more subdued demeanor, as well as a new lead attorney by his side--Thomas Mesereau, who replaced Mark Geragos after Jackson complained that Geragos (also Scott Peterson's attorney) wasn't devoting enough attention to his case. In court, Jackson nodded as his not-guilty pleas were entered on all charges, including four counts of lewd acts involving a child, four counts of administering an intoxicating agent to a child and a conspiracy count involving allegations of child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He was released on a previously posted $3 million bail. He didn't dance on any cars.

The switch in attorneys and approach can be traced, sources tell TIME, to a rift in the family and the growing influence of Michael's younger brother Randy, 42, who has supplanted Jermaine as the brother most involved in the case. "Randy's got his ear right now," says a knowledgeable source. The brothers have been at odds before. When Jermaine left the Jacksons temporarily in 1975, Randy replaced him; years later, they had a tiff when Jermaine threatened to withdraw from a 2001 reunion concert. People close to the family see Randy as a more stabilizing influence than Jermaine, a Muslim convert who helped bring in members of the Nation of Islam as Michael's security. If nothing else, the change in attorneys overseen by Randy "will slow down" the legal proceedings, says one source. "That's not necessarily a bad thing."

--By Jeffrey Ressner