Opening statements are to begin today in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial.
Prosecutors are expected to contend that Jackson is a serial abuser of young boys, while defence lawyers will tell jurors the pop star (46) was framed by the money-hungry mother of his young accuser.
The trial will offer a rare glimpse into Jackson's bizarre and often controversial lifestyle and his lawyers have promised to call as witnesses some of the most famous people in America - including basketball star Kobe Bryant, Tonight Showhost Jay Leno and actress Elizabeth Taylor.
The case also pits Jackson and his high-powered legal team against the man he and his supporters consider his longtime nemesis, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon.
The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" once recorded a song that served as a thinly veiled attack on Mr Sneddon and defense lawyers tried several times to have the veteran prosecutor removed from the case, claiming he was "blinded by zeal" to put Jackson behind bars.
The judge rejected those arguments, but defence lawyers are expected to suggest during trial that Mr Sneddon overstepped his bounds as prosecutor when he conducted surveillance on a defence private investigator and met one-on-one with the mother of Jackson's young accuser.
Jackson and Mr Sneddon have been at odds since the mid-1990s, when another young boy accused the performer of molestation.
Jackson and the boy's family settled out of court and no criminal charges were ever brought.
Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has not yet decided if prosecutors can present evidence about the prior case during the trial and it was not clear if Mr Sneddon would make reference to it in his opening statement.
The current case centres on charges that Jackson molested a then-13-year-old boy at his Neverland Valley Ranch in the foothills of the central California coast above Santa Maria.
He is also accused of plying the boy with wine disguised in soda cans to seduce him and conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment. If convicted of all 10 charges, he faces nearly two decades in prison.
Jackson has pleaded innocent to the charges.