About Michael Jackson's death

Judge rejects long list of defense witnesses for Michael Jackson's doctor

LOS ANGELES — To hear lawyers for Michael Jackson's physician tell it, the pop star lived his last days in a state of physical and financial desperation. Hooked on Demerol and starved for sleep, he worried constantly about a comeback attempt that offered him one last chance to pay off his mountain of debt and reclaim a place in the music industry, the lawyers have said.


LOS ANGELES — To hear lawyers for Michael Jackson's physician tell it, the pop star lived his last days in a state of physical and financial desperation. Hooked on Demerol and starved for sleep, he worried constantly about a comeback attempt that offered him one last chance to pay off his mountain of debt and reclaim a place in the music industry, the lawyers have said.

It's a portrayal that attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray say is vital to understanding what led to Jackson's death, but after a series of court rulings Monday, it is unlikely to be heard by jurors at the doctor's upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor excluded the testimony of more than a dozen defense witnesses, including Jackson's longtime dermatologist, his business manager and the nanny for his three children.

The defense had hoped the testimony of these Jackson confidants and other insiders would convince a jury that the singer was so drug-addled and experiencing so much pressure to perform that he accidentally overdosed on a surgical anesthetic.

But the judge said these witnesses, some of whose accounts of Jackson's drug use went back two decades, would confuse jurors.

“Discussions of these subject matters are sufficiently convoluted, distracting and detracting as to substantially outweigh any probative value whatsoever,” Pastor said.

It was the second major setback for Murray's defense strategy. The judge barred his lawyers in April from delving into the singer's profound money problems. He said that evidence threatened to turn what should be a focused trial into a “battle of accountants” and “a salacious analysis of personal financial issues.”

A lawyer for Murray said the defense planned to file a motion later this week asking the judge to reconsider.

“A large point of our defense has been gutted,” lawyer Edward Chernoff said. “But if we have to go to a tank battle with a switchblade, that is exactly what we'll do.”

Although prosecutors have not made their witness list public, testimony and court discussions indicate that most of evidence presented to jurors will be from medical experts.

Prosecutors contend that Murray, hired as Jackson's $150,000-a-month concert doctor, bears criminal responsibility for his death. They have said he injected Jackson with a drug, propofol, that should never be used outside a surgical setting and then left him unattended. Prosecutors urged the judge Monday to keep testimony focused on the medical care Murray provided the singer's before his June 25, 2009 death and not Jackson's mental state or drug use.

The most prominent name the judge removed from the defense witness list was Jackson's Beverly Hills dermatologist, Arnold Klein. The defense planned to blame Klein for Jackson's Demerol addiction, writing in a filing Monday that the dermatologist provided the singer with large amounts of the painkiller “for no valid medical purpose.” The defense maintains the singer sought propofol to deal with severe insomnia, a side effect of the painkiller that was hindering rehearsals for his comeback effort.

The prosecution, however, complained that Murray was trying to misdirect the jury's attention onto Klein, who was not on trial. The judge agreed, but will allow the defense to present medical records detailing Klein's treatment of Jackson.

An attorney for Klein did not immediately return a message for comment.

The judge also prohibited any witnesses connected to Jackson's 2005 prosecution for child molestation. Murray's lawyers intended to call a Santa Barbara sheriff's detective who found propofol and Demerol in the performer's Neverland estate in 2003. A jury acquitted Jackson of all charges.

“That is no-go territory as far as this criminal trial,” Pastor said.

The witnesses the defense intended to call would have provided an intimate window into Jackson's world. One longtime friend, Susan Etok, told police that Jackson expressed doubts about performing in the “This Is It” shows and asked her to help him get propofol and other drugs, according to a defense filing.

The nanny, Grace Rwaramba, told investigators she had repeatedly tried to stage interventions and once fielded a call from Jackson's children when their father had passed out on the floor. She was fired two months before the singer's death after complaining about his drug use, the filing states.

One member of the inner circle who will testify is Jackson's make-up artist Karen Faye, a friend of 27 years. Pastor ruled that she could recount her observations of the last week of Jackson's life. She told detectives that the recording star “was weak, extremely thin and seemed to be under the influence of drugs” and told her he didn't think he could “physically complete” a 50-show comeback attempt in London, according to the filing.

The defense will also be permitted to call as witnesses two doctors and a nurse who Jackson approached about propofol in the months before his death: David Adams, a Las Vegas physician who the defense filing says told police that Jackson “was so familiar with” propofol that he referred to it as “milk”; Cherilyn Lee, a nurse, who is said to have told investigators that Jackson pledged to pay “her or another doctor whatever they wanted” for propofol; and Allen Metzger, a West Hollywood doctor who according to the filing said Jackson sought intravenous sleep medication two months before his death.

Jury selection in Murray's trial begins Sept. 8 with testimony starting at the end of the month.


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Jury to be selected for Jackson trial

Jury to be selected for Jackson trial

September 5 2011 at 10:09pm

Reuters
LOS ANGELES: Jury selection will begin this week for the long-awaited trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor, accused of manslaughter over the pop star’s 2009 death at the age of 50.

The Los Angeles Superior Court will begin vetting potential jurors on Thursday, for the trial starting later this month of Conrad Murray, accused of killing Jackson with an overdose of a powerful sedative.

Fans of the self-styled King of Pop are expected to turn out in force to see justice done at the repeatedly delayed trial although some warn that the outcome may lead to disappointment or even anger.

“Many fans are expecting that a conviction will bring closure,” said Wesley Noorhoff, president of the Legendary Michael Jackson Fan Association, which has members in more than 180 countries.

“But I doubt it will,” he said, explaining that, even if Murray was convicted his maximum sentence would be four years, and in any case there would probably be further lawsuits over money.

“I believe the trial is going to be a big disappointment no matter what the outcome is.

“If Murray is convicted there will be disappointment about the maximum sentence of only four years… I can’t even begin to imagine what will happen if he is not convicted,” he added.

Murray, the last doctor to treat Jackson, is on trial for involuntary homicide in Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009 after an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol, which the singer used as a sleeping aid. Jackson’s death, on the eve of a planned series of comeback concerts in London aimed at reviving his reputation and finances battered by child-sex allegations, stunned fans around the world.

His personal doctor is charged with administering the powerful drug – usually used as an anaesthetic – to the star and then neglecting to monitor him closely enough. Murray’s defence team is expected to argue that Jackson gave himself an excessive dose of the drug while the doctor was out of the room at the singer’s mansion in the affluent Holmby Hills neighbourhood west of Los Angeles.



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Judge warns Conrad Murray to keep quiet about his rulings


Los Angeles (CNN) -- The judge in the trial of the physician charged with causing Michael Jackson's death warned Dr. Conrad Murray and his lawyers on Tuesday to keep their mouths shut in public when they disagree with his rulings.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ended a hearing Tuesday saying he wanted "to make it crystal clear" he did not want to hear or read their criticisms in news reports.
Judge Pastor was apparently upset by Dr. Murray's response when a TMZ photographer approached him at an outdoor mall in Santa Monica, California, last month. The photographer, who followed Murray as he pushed his child in a stroller, asked what he thought of the judge's decision not to sequester jurors to shelter them from media coverage of the trial.
"I think it's an error, but we'll keep our faith and the Lord will see us through this," Murray said.
The defense is appealing Pastor's ruling, arguing that keeping the jury separated in a hotel for the duration of the trial is the only way to keep them from being influenced by TV commentators and online reporting.
Although Murray has not been required to attend pretrial hearings since May, Judge Pastor ordered him to be in court Tuesday. Murray listened as the judge said he wanted to "to admonish counsel and Dr. Murray" that the case would "be tried in this courtroom."
"It will not be tried on interviews," Pastor said. "It will not be tried on the doorstep of this courthouse, or in a mall or in a restaurant or on talk radio or on any other interviews. I want to make it crystal clear, I don't want the defendant or others to comment whether they agree or disagree with ruling."
Still, there is no gag order legally preventing the defense team or Murray from talking to reporters about the trial. The judge did not indicate how he would enforce his admonition.
While the trial is set to be televised, cameras have not been allowed in pretrial hearings. Defense lawyers have sometimes stopped to talk to reporters outside of the courthouse after those hearings, but they've become notably silent in the past week.
Murray's lawyers filed an emergency petition with the California appeals court on Friday asking that the trial be delayed until Judge Pastor's decision not to sequester the jury can be reconsidered.
"Petitioner only asks that measures be put in place so that the jury is not poisoned by the mass of information and opinion that will be generated from the reporting," the defense argued in its petition.
Judge Pastor ruled last month that sequestration was not needed because he had faith jurors would follow his orders to avoid news reports and commentary about the case. Keeping the jury separated from the rest of the world during the trial would "make them feel like feel like inmates," Pastor said.
"This was, with all due respect, abuse of discretion," defense lawyers said in their 28-page petition.
They compared the upcoming trial to the recent coverage of the Casey Anthony murder trial and said Murray could not get a fair trial if the jury was not isolated.
"Because of the international notoriety of Mr. Jackson, it would be impossible for a juror to browse any news source on television or the Internet, without seeing a boldly printed headline discussing the trial."
Judge Pastor said Tuesday the "defense is justified in seeking appellate review," and he expects the appeals panel will expedite its consideration of the petition.
"But absent a mandate from the court of appeals staying the proceedings, we are on course," Pastor said.
The judge scheduled another hearing for Wednesday morning to deal with "any other issues that may be out there that we should be addressing before the commencement of voir dire" on Thursday.
It will also be the lawyers last chance to ask for any changes in the 30-page questionnaire that will be used to choose jurors. "It is an exhaustive questionnaire," Judge Pastor said.
Jury selection begins Thursday morning when the first of several hundred potential jurors are screened to determine which could withstand the financial and family hardship of sitting through the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.
Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death on June 25, 2009. The coroner ruled it was caused by an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol, combined with other drugs.
Opening statements are set for September 27.

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Michael Jackson doctor's trial 'on course' despite appeal, judge says

A judge said that the trial for Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray will proceed "on course," despite his lawyer's last-minute appeal to sequester witnesses prior to his upcoming trial, OnTheRedCarpet.com has learned.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor confirmed that jury selection will begin on September 8 as planned, unless the Court of Appeal stays the involuntary manslaughter trial. During jury selection, 480 potential jurors will be brought in over the course of three days.

Those who do not meet qualifications will be dismissed and a group of 100 jurors will appear in court around September 23 for the voir dire process, where the attorneys will select or reject those who do not meet their guidelines.

Autopsy results have shown that the King of Pop died from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic Propofol and two other sedatives. Murray was at the singer's side when he died at age 50 at his Los Angeles on June 25, 2009 and pleaded not guilty in January to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Murray's lawyers wanted future jurors to be "insulated" from what they call "pervasive media coverage" of the legal proceedings. Last month, a judge ruled against removing jurors from their homes, saying he did not want to inconvenience potential jurors and make them feel like prisoners.

Murray's lawyers stated in their appeal, which was filed on Friday, September 2, that the "constant media coverage and the persuasiveness of their coverage is a clear and present danger" to Murray's "right to have a verdict based only on the evidence presented in court."

"Every restaurant, bar, gym, supermarket or coffee shop will become a potential source of information" for the jurors, Murray's attorney say in the court papers, obtained by OnTheRedCarpet.com."

Jury selection for Murray's trial is set to begin on September 8. Murray's lawyers want this date postponed until an appeals court rules on the sequestration issue. Opening statements are expected to be made on September 27. The trial is estimated to last between four and six weeks.

Witnesses will not be allowed to testify about the King of Pop's 2005 child molestation case, during which the singer was found not guilty, a judge ruled on August 29, adding that such information is irrelevant to Murray's case and would be distracting and misleading for the jury. They also cannot discuss objects or substances that may have been confiscated from his Neverland Ranch.

"I'm afraid we are not going to be able to put on any evidence in this trial," Murray's attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, said as he headed out of the courtroom.

Jackson was known for his friendships with child and teenage celebrities, such as Macaulay Culkin. "Punky Brewster" actress Soleil Moon Frye recently detailed her own childhood encounters with Jackson in her new book.

The judge also posed more hurdles for Murray's attorneys. He said that Arnold Klein, Jackson's dermatologist, is not allowed to testify at the involuntary manslaughter trial.

Murray's attorneys had said that Klein had prescribed the painkiller Demerol to Jackson and that the singer was withdrawing from it at the time of his death. Prosecutors said the defense was trying to divert attention from Murray and pin the blame on Klein.

Others barred from testifying - a police detective who searched Jackson's Neverland Ranch while he was being investigated for child molestation, Grace Rwaramba, former nanny of the singer's children and Chris Carter, a former bodyguard.

Among those who will be allowed to testify at Murray's trial - Karen Faye, Jackson's makeup artist and hair stylist, who has said she became worried about the singer's health prior to his death, physicians David Adams and Allen Metzger, who have treated the him, and the King of Pop's nurse, Cherylin Lee.

Jury selection for Murray's trial is set to begin on September 8. The prosecution has prepared about 30 pages worth of questions for prospective jurors to answer. Murray was ordered to attend a hearing two days earlier.

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Defense Seeks Delay in Michael Jackson Manslaughter Trial


11:05 a.m. CDT, September 6, 2011

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Michael Jackson's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is set to attend a pre-trial hearing Tuesday, just two days before jury selection is slated to begin in his involuntary manslaughter trial.

A main issue in the case is whether jurors will be sequestered during the trial. A judge ruled against sequestering last month.

Murray's lawyers have filed an emergency appeal and asked for the trial to be delayed until the issue is decided by an appeals court.

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"Because of the international notoriety of Mr. Jackson, it would be impossible for a juror to browse any news source on television or the Internet without seeing a boldly printed headline discussing the trial," the attorneys said in the 28-page petition.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ruled against sequestering, saying he was confident jurors will heed his warnings to avoid what is anticipated to be intense media coverage of the televised proceedings.

"I expect that the jurors will follow the high road and that means that they will not be in the receipt of or in contact with information regarding this case" outside the courtroom, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said at a hearing.

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.

His attorneys predict his trial will be "the most publicized in history."

The judge said jurors will be kept away from reporters and instructed that reading or watching coverage of the case will result in serious consequences.

"I have tremendous faith in the jury system and in the individual promises of jurors," he said.

The last time a jury was sequestered in L.A. County was during the O.J. Simpson trial.

Dr. Conrad Murray is accused of giving Jackson a lethal dose of propofol mixed with other sedatives June 25, 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Prosecutors contend the Houston-based cardiologist was on the phone and distracted after administering a powerful anesthetic to Jackson.

They also believe the singer was dead by the time Murray summoned help.

Pastor has ruled that cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.

The case is expected to last about two months.

Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

At a preliminary hearing in January, a security guard testified he was told to place vials of medicine in bags before calling 911.

Alberto Alvarez was the first security guard to reach the bedroom where Jackson lapsed into unconsciousness.


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Doctor's trial may avoid Michael Jackson's past


(Reuters) - Michael Jackson's former doctor faces a tough challenge clearing himself of involuntary manslaughter charges in the pop star's death as his trial, which promises to avoid many dark aspects of Jackson's life, begins with jury selection due this week.

While it is Dr. Conrad Murray, who will be on trial when attorneys are expected to start selecting a panel on Thursday, the "Thriller" singer's infamy will loom large over the proceedings.

Jackson was one of the world's most recognizable singers, dubbed the King of Pop, when he died in June 2009, at age 50. He also was known to have battled an addiction to painkillers, and Murray's attorneys had hoped to present evidence of his past drug use at the trial.

But in an obstacle for the defense, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor barred testimony from a half-dozen doctors whom Murray's attorneys had indicated in court papers would portray Jackson as drug-dependent.

"The deck is, for various reasons, stacked against the defense here," said Stan Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Jackson stopped breathing at his Los Angeles mansion on June 25, 2009, in what authorities say was an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and various sedatives.

Murray, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, has admitted giving Jackson propofol, a drug normally used for surgery, as a sleep aid.

During a series of court hearings earlier this year defense attorneys suggested that when Murray was out of the room, Jackson could have given himself a large, fatal dose of the drug, possibly by swallowing it.

Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

FINDING A JURY

As for choosing an impartial jury, legal experts say it will be impossible to find anyone who knows nothing of Jackson. Some will adore him, while others will abhor him. So attorneys will have to work to find the most unbiased jury possible under the circumstances.

"It's going to be like a Ouija board, it's going to be guess work," Goldman said.

Murray's defense team has filed a last minute appeal demanding that the jury be sequestered and asking for a halt to proceedings pending a ruling.

But Pastor said on Tuesday that jury selection would go ahead as planned "absent a mandate from the court of appeal staying proceedings."

Once a jury is selected, opening arguments are expected to begin the last week of September.

Jackson's family has faithfully attended all the court hearings in the case, with his mother, Katherine, 81, often sitting with his father, Joseph, 83.

The King of Pop's supporters also will be on hand, and if earlier hearings are any indication they will wear black as a sign of mourning over their fallen idol. At earlier court hearings, some fans hired a plane to fly a banner over the courthouse that read "Change charges to murder."

"If the jurors walk through, on the way to the courthouse, a massive amount of fans who are declaring the guilt of the defendant in the case, I find it hard to believe it won't have some impact," Goldman said.

But some trial watchers say the circus atmosphere that is expected outside the courthouse may, in fact, never materialize. Indeed, Jackson's fans failed to jam the streets of downtown Los Angeles during his 2009 memorial, as had been widely expected.

Laurie Levenson, a colleague of Goldman's at Loyola Law School, said she does not believe the proceedings will become anywhere near the public and media frenzy that accompanied the 1995 murder trial and acquittal of O.J. Simpson.

For one, the Grenada-born Murray is not a celebrity, just a doctor with patients in Nevada and Texas.

"We have a 'trial of the century' about every six months here in Los Angeles," Levenson said wryly.

(Editing by Chris Michaud and Bob Tourtellotte)


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Sep 03, 2011
Lawyers for Jackson doctor protest, and so does Billie Joe

Less than one week after Michael Jackson would have turned 53, there has been yet another twist into the ongoing saga following his premature death.

In an appeal late Friday, attorneys for Conrad Murray, the doctor accused of giving the late superstar a lethal drug overdose, challenged a judge's decision to not sequester jurors. The lawyers maintain that members of the jury could be negatively influenced by the publicity surronding the case unless kept in isolation. They have also asked that jury selection be delayed until the matter is settled by an appeals court.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, and could face up to four years in prison if a jury decides otherwise.


CAPTIONBy Nam Y. Huh, AP
On a lighter note, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong announced on his Twitter account that he had been booted off a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank. The reason?

"...because my pants sagged too low!" Armstrong tweeted. "What the f(asterisk) (asterisk) (asterisk)? No joke!"

In a statement, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins assured everyone that the singer/guitarist was put on another flight, and hadn't complained further when contacted by customer service.


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Jermaine Jackson Blasts Dr Conrad Murray For Administering Propofol To Michael
Speaks Out Against Doctor Amid Trial...
By Alicia Adejobi on Tuesday 20th September 2011 Photo by WENN.com

Jermaine Jackson has spoken out against Dr Conrad Murray amid his manslaughter trial, saying that he had no right to administer Propofol to brother Michael.
The King Of Pop was found dead in his home in June 2009, and an investigation into his death found that he had high levels of the anaesthetic Propofol in his system. Dr Conrad Murray is being accused of manslaughter after giving Michael the drugs in his home when he should not have been.
Michael's brother Jermaine has now blasted Murray for administering the drug. "My view on Dr Conrad is he should never have been giving my brother Propofol. He's not an anaesthesiologist, he's a cardiologist and it wasn't in the proper setting. This wasn't a one time thing," he told Magic 105.4.
"This was given to my brother over a period of time and that's why the symptoms came along, I mean he was very thin. He trusted doctors, he trusted them!"
Dr Conrad's trial is expected to start next month.


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Michael Jackson death: Attorney Connie Rice among possible jurors
September 23, 2011

Prominent civil rights attorney Connie Rice is among the potential jurors in the trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.

Court officers led Rice and approximately 100 other prospective jurors down a court hallway lined with reporters Friday morning as the jury pool is winnowed down to a dozen who will decide Murray's fate.

Rice, who heads the advocacy group the Advancement Project, has criticized Los Angeles Police Department policies and filed class-action lawsuits alleging police brutality and racial and sexual discrimination. But in recent years, she has advised the mayor on police issues, worked with the department on gang prevention and was a vocal supporter of Charlie Beck’s promotion to police chief.

The LAPD was the lead agency in the investigation of Jackson’s death.

More than 80 news outlets from around the world have applied to cover the trial, a number that eclipsed the previous record of 52 for the Chris Brown domestic violence case.

To get a coveted seat in the courtroom for jury selection, a throng of reporters and citizens participated in a lottery at the front door of the courthouse Friday morning. At one point, nine sheriff's officers guarded the entrance to Judge Michael Pastor's courtroom.

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter and administering a lethal dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. Murray has pleaded not guilty. The jury is expected to hear about five weeks of testimony.

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