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estimated that Dr. Chandler received approximately one to
two million dollars and the balance of the money was put in a
trust fund for the little boy until he reached the age of 18. The
parents were ordered to relinquish custody over the little boy's
estate, and a retired judge was appointed guardian over his
estate.
It has been speculated in recent news reports that Michael
Jackson did not actually pay the little boy twenty million dol-
lars, but in fact deposited twenty million dollars into a trust
account in which he lives off of the interest. It was also re-
ported that Michael Jackson may not have even paid the esti-
mated twenty million dollars out of his own pocket but that
he reported the loss to his insurance company and the money
may have been paid through his insurance.
The terms of the settlement must have also included that
Michael Jackson had to dismiss the extortion charges against
Mr. Rothman and Dr. Chandler, since immediately after the
settlement the charges were withdrawn.
It wasn't until I started shopping for a literary agent for my
book that I discovered that many people believed Michael Jack-
son was guilty of the child molestation charges simply because
he did, in fact, settle. I heard people say repeatedly, "if he was
innocent, why did he settle?" I did not realize that was how a
great majority of people felt. I assumed that people believed
in the constitution of this country, which states you are inno-
cent until proven guilty.
In the legal profession, settling a case is the most preferred
way to resolve a dispute, mainly because of the escalating court
costs involved in litigating a case. The longer it takes to re-
solve a court matter, the more money it costs the litigants and
the taxpayers. The Prosecutors, District Attorneys and police
are paid by the taxpayers, and they do not spare any costs in
pursuing these cases, not to mention, the costs of expert wit-
nesses, expensive attorneys fees, jury fees and court costs.
Cases sometimes make it all the way to the threshold of
trial, and then settle right on the eve of trial. The settlement of
a case, however, has never been recognized in the legal field

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