Michael Proctor, a former public defender, said he expects to see the defense challenge the prosecutors' handling of the investigation and the evidence, and perhaps try to change where the case is tried and by whom.
Geragos and Brafman may also privately take Jackson to task for his behavior in court, nixing future public displays of defiance and possibly distancing him from the Nation of Islam bodyguards who accompanied him to court, Proctor said.
"Everything the defense team is doing ought to be focused on creating a wholesome image of Michael Jackson," he said.
"That's just another added layer of controversy that he doesn't need," he said.
Child abuse expert John Myers said that because Jackson's case presents no legal precedents, he expects the defense team to focus on the entertainer's accuser and his family.
"In most circumstances the child is the only eyewitness and ... there is no medical evidence and the child has been inconsistent over time," said Myers, a leading authority on child abuse litigation at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.
"It's perfectly legitimate for the defense attorney to go after that," he said.
But Myers said the odds are slim that Jackson will escape conviction if the case goes to trial.
"Most [of these] cases that go to trial end in conviction," he said.
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