Jury Search Commences

The search for jurors for the forthcoming trial of Doctor Conrad Murray has moved up a notch.

Prospective jurors have completed a 166 question (30 page questionnaire), which has whittled numbers down to 145 potential jurors cleared for further questioning.

Among the myriad of questions were the following:

- Have potential jurors read newspaper stories about Michael Jackson's death?
- Have they followed coverage of legal developments?
- Did they watch the funeral or memorial service for Jackson, or did they try to attend the services in person?

The next phase of juror selection will be in court questioning on September 23rd.

Jury Selection Begins

Jury selection for the trial of Dr Conrad Murray, for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson, will begin today (Thursday).


The 2nd District Court of Appeals has denied a petition by Dr Murray's defence lawyers, who sought jury sequestration.

The Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who said that round the clock isolation was unnecessary, prohibitively expensive and stressful for jurors.

Potential jurors will attend court this morning and complete a lengthy questionnaire.

The trial is scheduled begin in the last week in September.

DA's Office Want Files Sealed

The District Attorney's Office have filed a request with the LA Superior Court seeking to delay the release of fire department and coroner's office records to lawyers handling civil litigation for Lloyd's of London, until after the upcoming trial of Dr Conrad Murray.

Lloyd's of London filed suit against concert promoters AEG Live in Los Angeles in June, seeking $17.5M compensation for the cancelation of a series of London shows Michael Jackson was rehearsing for just before he died.

The DA's office is worried that sensitive records may well leak to the media, if they are released to the insurers' lawyers, before the manslaughter trial of Dr Murray.

Judge Guts Murray's Defence

The Guardian reports that Judge Michael Pastor (the judge in the upcoming trial of doctor Conrad Murray) has "gutted" Dr Murray's defence. That at least is the opinion of Dr Murray's defence team.

For why?

Judge Pastor has rejected over a dozen of their proposed witnesses, and barred "distracting" testimony about Jackson's financial affairs, personal life and aspects of his medical history.

Judge Pastor has also, quite rightly, banned any testimony linked to Jackson's 2005 child molestation trial given that it is irrelevant to the trial of Conrad Murray.

The trial is scheduled to commence in September.

Most Publicised Trial In History

Doctor Conrad Murray's lawyers have asked for a sequestered jury for the forthcoming involuntary manslaughter trial.

They are of the view that media coverage of high-profile trials (eg Casey Anthony) endangers a fair trial taking place.

The lawyers believe that that Dr. Murray's trial will be the most publicised in history. Hence the need to sequester the jury, ie to isolate the members from associating with anyone but their own company.

Judge Pastor will review the request, and a hearing is scheduled for August 25.

Jury selection is scheduled to start on September 8, and opening statements on September 26.

Michael Jackson Perfume

I see that the media reports that there may be a range of Michael Jackson perfumes launched in due course.

FFS, he's dead!

How can a new product (devised after his death), with which he had no possible earthly connection or input, have any genuine connection to him aside from making his estate money?

What's In A Name?

Further problems have beset plans by Michael Jackson's mother (and three of his siblings) to hold a tribute concert in Cardiff on 8 October.

Aside from the fact that Jermaine and Randy Jackson are opposed to the event, the executors of Jackson's estate are none too pleased that permission has not been sought from them to use the name "Michael Jackson" in the concert.

The late star's name in it own right carries value, and those who seek to make money out of using it in concerts need permission from the estate.

Sony Motion

Sony studios have asked Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor (the judge hearing Michael Jackson's manslaughter trial) to throw out a subpoena for footage of Jackson's final rehearsals.

Lawyers working for Sony Pictures Entertainment argue that neither prosecutors nor defence lawyers should be able to show the footage during the trial.

Judge Pastor will review the motion today.

Hearing Postponed

The hearing into the case of Dr Conrad Murray (the late Michael Jackson's doctor) has been postponed from 12 July to 20 July, because lawyers are viewing hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage from Jackson's "This Is It" concert.

Prosecutors want to show jurors clips from the film "This Is It" to prove that Jackson was healthy in the days leading up to his death. The defence, by contrast, wants to show that he was ill.

Fulham Scores Own Goal

Fulham Football Club appears to have forgotten that it is primarily a football club. Not content with erecting a statue to Michale Jackson outside its grounds in April 2011, its club shop is now selling Jackson T shirts, mugs and memorabilia with the caption "Michael At The Cottage".

Unsurprisingly, the fans of the club are not particularly impressed with this.

Top Earner

According to Forbes, which knows a thing or two about wealth, Michael Jackson (since his death 2 years ago) has earned $400M.

This is more than any other musician, living or dead, over the last 2 years.

Insurer Seeks To Void Policy

The financial fallout and bickering from the death of Michael Jackson in 2009 continues unabated.

The media report that Lloyd's of London underwriter Cathedral Capital Ltd.'s syndicate 2010 is seeking to void a policy covering the risk of Michael Jackson not appearing at performances.

When Jackson died in 2009, AEG Live filed a claim for $17.5M for the nonappearance and cancellation of the concert. However, Cathedral Capital have now sued AEG. They allege that AEG have failed to provide necessary medical information and details about Dr. Conrad Murray (Jackson's doctor); this information would enable Cathedral to determine if the claim was valid.