Madonna’s Court Appearance Delayed 1 Day

The “Material Girl” failed to materialize Tuesday for the start of the trial of a man accused of stalking her. But despite a judge’s threat, no $5-million bench warrant was issued against Madonna.

The singer’s lawyer was able to get a one-day reprieve while a jury is being selected in the case against Robert Dewey Hoskins, who was shot and wounded by Madonna’s bodyguard on her Hollywood Hills estate in May after he allegedly jumped a fence.

But as soon as that issue was settled, Madonna threw another curve at the criminal justice system.

Without explanation, she requested through her lawyer that Hoskins be removed from the courtroom when she takes the stand and that he be forced to watch her on a monitor from another room.

As an alternative, she asked that she be taped testifying at a site outside the courtroom and that the tape be shown in court.

Both the prosecutor and Hoskins’ defense lawyer said they will oppose any such arrangement because, except in cases involving children under 10, the law gives every defendant the right to confront his or her accuser.

“If we get a verdict in this case, I don’t want anything to jeopardize it,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Rhonda Saunders.

Deputy Public Defender E. John Meyers called Madonna’s request “highly unusual” and said he did not think that it would be granted.

Madonna’s lawyer, Nicholas DeWitt, would not say why his client made the request.

Superior Court Judge Jacqueline A. Connor is expected to rule on it today after jury selection is completed and before testimony begins in Hoskins’ trial.

Madonna is expected to be the first witness in a trial that is expected to last four or five days. Connor has banned all cameras from the courtroom during the proceedings.

The judge pointedly told the 40-member jury pool Tuesday that Hoskins’ case would bear no resemblance to the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, which was televised live, creating what many believe was a circus-like atmosphere.

There were about a dozen reporters in the spectator section of Connor’s courtroom Tuesday, most of whom disappeared when they learned that Madonna would not be there until the next day.

During the jury selection process, Connor extensively questioned the potential jurors about their attitudes about Madonna, asking if her celebrity would affect their ability to judge the case fairly.

Without having to say why, the prosecutor excused one man who said he was “potentially offended” by Madonna’s use of crosses and crucifixes in her act.

Hoskins’ lawyer excused a man who proudly said he had a copy of her book “Sex,” as well as a woman who said she had every recording Madonna made.

Hoskins, who has recovered from wounds to his arm and abdomen, conferred quietly with his lawyer through most of the proceeding.

He is charged with one count of stalking Madonna and one count of making a terrorist threat against her. He also is charged with making terrorist threats against Madonna’s bodyguard, Basil Stephens, and her assistant, Caresse Henry, and assaulting Stephens.

The charges stem from incidents of alleged stalking at the entertainer’s Hollywood Hills estate, where authorities say Hoskins showed up on three occasions threatening to slice her throat “from ear to ear.”

The last incident occurred May 29, 1994, when he allegedly jumped the fence at the estate near Lake Hollywood carrying a wooden heart bearing the words “Love to my wife Madnna” (sic).

When confronted by guards, he became belligerent and lunged at Stephens, authorities say, prompting Stephens to shoot him.

Madonna was not at home at the time of the shooting but arrived in time to see Hoskins being taken away, Saunders said in court last month, when the trial was supposed to start.

Proceedings were stalled, however, because Madonna, the prosecution’s chief witness against Hoskins, refused to answer a subpoena requiring her to testify.

Her lawyer told Superior Court Judge Andrew Kauffman that his client was “tired and sick” after a trip to Europe and no longer wanted to testify because of her busy schedule.

Kauffman told him that if Madonna was not in court Tuesday, the date for the start of the trial, he would have her jailed on $5-million bail.

But DeWitt negotiated a one-day delay for the singer. He said later that it would have been pointless for Madonna to come to court Tuesday, since jury selection was expected to take all day.