ALL CNN TRIAL REPORTER ALAN DUKE'S NEWS ARTICLES - UPDATED DAILY

by **Admin** Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:23 pm

First topic message reminder :

Alan Duke is the CNN reporter that will be at Jackson v AEG trial everyday. Please post ALL of CNN's stories here in this thread. There are so many pages of the news and articles on this trial forum-so this will keep better tabs and order of just the CNN stories.

Here is the latest from Alan Duke:

Michael Jackson wrongful death trial to open
By Alan Duke, CNN

4/29/13

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The Michael Jackson wrongful death trial, which promises dramatic revelations and legal fireworks, begins in a small Los Angeles courtroom with opening statements Monday.

Jurors earning $15 a day will listen to several months of testimony before deciding whether one of the world's largest entertainment companies should pay Jackson's mother and three children billions of dollars for its liability in the pop icon's death.

Famous Jackson family members, including Janet, will sit just a few feet from the jury as Michael's oldest son and daughter describe their father's last days. But they will also endure weeks of tedious testimony from medical and financial experts offering opinions about the singer's health, addiction and career.

Only a handful of journalists and a few members of the public will be allowed inside the courtroom because many of its 45 seats are reserved for parties involved in the trial, including the Jackson family. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos denied CNN's request to televise the trial.

Pretrial hearings have featured angry and personal exchanges between lawyers for the two sides, made more intense by the intimacy of the tiny courtroom.

The central issue

The central issue is simple: Did AEG Live, the company promoting Jackson's comeback concerts in 2009, hire or supervise Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's June 25, 2009, death?

Jackson died two weeks before his "This Is It" comeback concerts, organized by AEG Live, were to have debuted in London. The coroner ruled Jackson died from a fatal combination of sedatives and propofol, a surgical anesthetic that Murray told investigators he used to put Jackson to sleep almost every night in the month before his death.

The Jacksons will argue that AEG executives knew about the star's weakened health and his past use of dangerous drugs while on tour. They're liable in his death because they pressured Jackson and the doctor to meet their ambitious schedule to prepare for the London shows despite that knowledge, their lawyers contend.

A cornerstone of their case is an e-mail AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware wrote 11 days before Jackson's death. The e-mail to show director Kenny Ortega addressed concerns that Murray had kept Jackson from a rehearsal the day before: "We want to remind (Murray) that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him."

Jackson lawyers argue the e-mail is evidence that AEG Live used Murray's fear of losing his lucrative job as Jackson's personal physician to pressure him to have Jackson ready for rehearsals despite his fragile health.

AEG will defend itself by arguing that Jackson was responsible for his own demise, that he chose Murray to be his full-time doctor and that his drug addiction led him to a series of fatal choices. Murray was never an AEG employee but rather was chosen and paid by Jackson for nearly four years until Jackson died, AEG lawyers contend.

"I don't know how you can't look to Mr. Jackson's responsibility there," AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam told CNN. "He was a grown man."

Child molestation accusations against Jackson, for which he was acquitted after a trial, are relevant because they "resulted in an incredible increase in his drug intake," Putnam said.

"Mr. Jackson is a person who was known to doctor shop," Putnam said. "He was known to be someone who would tell one doctor one thing and another doctor something else."

When Palazuelos ruled in February that case warranted a jury trial, she found there was evidence to support the Jacksons' claim that AEG Live executives could have foreseen that Murray would use dangerous drugs in treating the singer.

Elvis' ghost haunts Michael Jackson death trial

Jackson's family seeks billions

The lawsuit seeks a judgment against AEG Live equal to the money Jackson would have earned over the course of his remaining lifetime if he had not died in 2009. Jackson lawyers denied media reports that they were seeking $40 billion in damages if AEG Live is found liable, but it could cost the company several billion dollars, according to estimates of Jackson's income potential.

AEG Live is a subsidiary of AEG, a global entertainment company that was up for sale recently with an $8 billion asking price.

One of the Jacksons' experts, certified pubic accountant Arthur Erk, estimated that Michael Jackson could have earned $1.4 billion by taking his "This Is It" tour around the world for 260 shows. AEG executives discussed extending the tour beyond the 50 shows scheduled for London, Jackson lawyers said.

Jackson lawyer Perry Sanders, in arguing for the judge to allow Erk's testimony, said when "This Is It" tickets went on sale in March 2009, there was the "highest demand to see anyone in the history of the world. No one has ever come close."

"There was so much demand, they filled 2 million seats in hours," Sanders said, quoting an e-mail from AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips sent to AEG's owner.

"We would have had to do 100-plus shows to fill the demand" in London, he said Phillips wrote. Jackson could have packed the Tokyo Dome several times in a world tour, he said.

But AEG lawyer Sabrina Strong called it "very speculative" that Jackson would have even finished the 50 London shows before dying.

AEG lawyers argued that Jackson didn't perform 260 shows and make that much money even in his prime. "He never came anywhere close to that," Strong said. "No one other than Cher has ever done that."

Erk also calculated Jackson would have followed with four more world tours before he turned 65.

Palazuelos weighed in during a hearing on Thursday, noting that the Rolling Stones are still touring into their 70s.

The Jacksons will also try to convince jurors that he would have made a fortune off of a long series of Las Vegas shows, endorsements, a clothing line and movies.

Strong argued that Jackson had a history of failed projects and missed opportunities, calling Erk's projections "a hope, a dream, and not a basis for damages."

If AEG is found liable, the company's lawyers want the judge to tell the jury to reduce any damages by the amount Jackson's estate earned from the documentary made from video the company shot of his rehearsals. "If there is a benefit in it, then that is deducted from a loss," Strong said.

Jackson lawyer Brian Panish compared giving AEG credit for the "This Is It" profits to being "like you murdered someone, wrote a book about them and gave them the money."

Panish, who will deliver the Jacksons' opening statement Monday morning, said he was not sure who his first witness will be Tuesday morning. He did tell the court he will show several videos of the depositions given by AEG's top executives in the first week.

Panish and AEG's Putnam will each have two and a half hours to describe their cases to the jury in opening statements starting at 10 a.m. Monday.

The witness lists include many members of the Jackson family, including matriarch Katherine Jackson. Other celebrity witnesses on the list are Sharon Osbourne, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Ray Parker Jr., Lisa Marie Presley, Diana Ross and Lou Ferrigno.

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by **MJ Mod** Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:45 pm

Kenny Ortega up next in Michael Jackson death trial

By: Alan Duke
July 8, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Kenny Ortega warned concert promoters five days before Michael Jackson's death that the singer needed "a top psychiatrist to evaluate him ASAP."

The director of Jackson's aborted comeback show testifies Monday about what AEG Live executives did and said in Jackson's final days.

Lawyers for Jackson's mother and children argue in the wrongful death trial against AEG Live that those executives ignored warning signs about his health and mental condition that, if heeded, could have saved his life.

The lawsuit contends the promoters hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's propofol overdose death.

AEG Live lawyers argue that Jackson -- not their executives -- chose and controlled the doctor, who was giving him nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic in a desperate search for sleep in his last two months.

Ortega, who knew Jackson well and worked with him closely preparing his "This Is It" shows, sounded a warning to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips in an e-mail on June 20, 2009 -- five days before Jackson's death -- that Ortega did not think the entertainer would be ready for the shows.

He described seeing "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" with Jackson. "I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist to evaluate him ASAP."

Expert: MJ was 'drug dependent,' not addicted

AEG says Jackson was secretive about his drug use, which the company contends was an addiction, so there was no way of knowing what treatments Murray was giving Jackson in his bedroom.

But a drug addiction expert testified last week that there was "not a lot of evidence to support" the belief that Michael Jackson was addicted to drugs.

If he was an addict, Jackson "would be taking drugs that were not prescribed by a medical professional, taking larger amounts than prescribed and have drug-seeking behavior," Dr. Sidney Schnoll testified.

There was no evidence Jackson ever took drugs that were not given to him by a doctor or that he took more than prescribed, Schnoll said.

The bottles of sedatives found in his home after his death had more pills remaining in them than he would have expected if Jackson was an addict, Schnoll said. This "indicated these were not being taken on a regular basis," he said.

Evidence shows Jackson sought drugs from a number of doctors, but that was not inappropriate because he needed them "to treat a legitimate medical problem," including back pain, scalp pain and dermatologic issues, Schnoll testified.

While not addicted, Jackson was dependent on drugs, he said.

The painkillers that forced Jackson to end his 1993 "Dangerous" tour early so he could enter a rehab program were taken to relieve the pain from scalp surgery needed to repair burns suffered when filming a Pepsi commercial, Schnoll said.

The burns left scars on damaged nerves in his scalp, which becomes "excitable tissue" that "can be firing just like the nerve," he said. The result "can be every painful, like a burning kind of pain -- persistent, sharp, shooting kind of pain," he said. "It's very uncomfortable and one of the most difficult to treat."

Pain relief is a legitimate use of opioid drugs and a person can function normally if they are taken under a doctor's care, he said.

President John Kennedy was opioid dependent to relieve "very severe back pain" while in the White House, he said.

"He did alright as president?" Jackson lawyer Michael Koskoff asked.

"It depends on your political affiliation," Schnoll answered.

The Demerol injections Jackson got during frequent visits to a Beverly Hills dermatologist between April and his death in late June 2009 were given for legitimate medical reasons, Schnoll testified.

If he were addicted to Demerol -- which is a powerful opioid -- he would not have gone 43 days between injections, which medical records show, he said.

Jackson also went roughly 13 years -- from 1993 until 2008 -- without the drug, he said. The doctor conceded under cross-examination by an AEG Live lawyer, however, that a gap in available medical records may be misleading.

Jackson's use of sedatives was an effort to treat his chronic insomnia, Schnoll said.

If the underlying sleep problem could be resolved, the chances of ending Jackson's use of the drugs would have been good, he said.

There was no indication that Jackson was addicted to propofol before Murray began giving him nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic for 60 days leading up to his death, he said.

Unheeded warning signs?

Ortega, in his e-mail to AEG Live CEO Phillips on June 20, wrote that "I honestly don't think he is ready for this based on his continued physical weakening and deepening emotional state."

He said Jackson was having trouble "grasping the work" at rehearsals.

Production manager John "Bugzee" Hougdahl wrote in an e-mail to Phillips hours earlier that Ortega had sent Jackson home from a rehearsal that night because of his strange behavior.

"I have watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his *** if he tried now," Hougdahl wrote. "He was a basket case and Kenny was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet -- get hurt. The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive."

Phillips replied to Ortega: "Please stay steady. Enough alarms have sounded. It is time to put out the fire, not burn the building down."

By "burn the building down," he meant pulling the plug on the tour that was set to begin in three weeks, Phillips testified last month. "In a highly charged situation like this, I just wanted to keep things calm until we could have the meeting."

Phillips met with Murray, Jackson and Ortega at Jackson's home later that day. While Jackson lawyers argue that meeting was intended to pressure Murray to make sure Jackson was ready for rehearsals, AEG lawyers contend Murray assured producers nothing was wrong.

Phillips testified that he remembered little about the conversation at the meeting and Murray has invoked his constitutional protection against self-incrimination to avoid testifying in the trial. This makes Ortega's testimony crucial for both sides.

Hand over evidence or face jail

A related drama could unfold Monday in another courtroom as a judge in Ohio decides if he'll carry out a threat to throw the widow and daughter of a former Jackson manager in jail for refusing to hand over a laptop computer subpoenaed by Jackson lawyers.

Frank DiLeo, who served as Jackson's manager decades earlier, reappeared in his life in his last months. He died in 2011. Jackson lawyers want to search his laptop for evidence to support their contention that DiLeo was beholden to the concert promoter and not to Jackson.

His daughter, Belinda DiLeo, refused a judge's order last week to disclose where the computer was, prompting the contempt of court order. The judge gave the DiLeo's until Monday to hand it over or face jail.

Jackson changed managers twice in the last three months of his life. In late March 2009, he hired Leonard Rowe -- one of his father's friends -- to replace Tohme Tohme, the manager who initially negotiated the deal with AEG for his "This Is It" tour.

Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live forced Jackson to take DiLeo, who had worked for him off and on for decades, as his manager in May 2009 because they did not want to work with Rowe.

A cache of 5,000 e-mails has already been recovered and a lawyer in Ohio is reviewing them to redact non-relevant and personal information before handing them over to Jackson lawyers.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Tue Jul 09, 2013 10:08 pm

Director of MJ's comeback show takes stand

By: Alan Duke
July 9, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Kenny Ortega, the director of Michael Jackson's aborted comeback show, began his testimony Monday about what AEG Live executives did and said in Jackson's final days.

His first hours on the stand Monday afternoon were spent discussing Jackson's creativity, saying his voice, songs and dancing were "like no one else in his generation." He will return Tuesday to resume his testimony.

Lawyers for Jackson's mother and children argue in the wrongful death trial against AEG Live that those executives ignored warning signs about his health and mental condition that, if heeded, could have saved his life.

The lawsuit contends the promoters hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's propofol overdose death.

AEG Live lawyers argue that Jackson -- not their executives -- chose and controlled the doctor, who was giving him nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic in a desperate search for sleep in his last two months.

Ortega, who knew Jackson well and worked with him closely preparing his "This Is It" shows, sounded a warning to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips in an e-mail on June 20, 2009 -- five days before Jackson's death -- that Ortega did not think the entertainer would be ready for the shows.

He described seeing "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" with Jackson. "I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist to evaluate him ASAP."

Expert: MJ was 'drug dependent,' not addicted

AEG says Jackson was secretive about his drug use, which the company contends was an addiction, so there was no way of knowing what treatments Murray was giving Jackson in his bedroom.

But a drug addiction expert testified last week that there was "not a lot of evidence to support" the belief that Michael Jackson was addicted to drugs.

If he was an addict, Jackson "would be taking drugs that were not prescribed by a medical professional, taking larger amounts than prescribed and have drug-seeking behavior," Dr. Sidney Schnoll testified.

There was no evidence Jackson ever took drugs that were not given to him by a doctor or that he took more than prescribed, Schnoll said.

The bottles of sedatives found in his home after his death had more pills remaining in them than he would have expected if Jackson was an addict, Schnoll said. This "indicated these were not being taken on a regular basis," he said.

Evidence shows Jackson sought drugs from a number of doctors, but that was not inappropriate because he needed them "to treat a legitimate medical problem," including back pain, scalp pain and dermatologic issues, Schnoll testified.

While not addicted, Jackson was dependent on drugs, he said.

The painkillers that forced Jackson to end his 1993 "Dangerous" tour early so he could enter a rehab program were taken to relieve the pain from scalp surgery needed to repair burns suffered when filming a Pepsi commercial, Schnoll said.

The burns left scars on damaged nerves in his scalp, which becomes "excitable tissue" that "can be firing just like the nerve," he said. The result "can be every painful, like a burning kind of pain -- persistent, sharp, shooting kind of pain," he said. "It's very uncomfortable and one of the most difficult to treat."

Pain relief is a legitimate use of opioid drugs and a person can function normally if they are taken under a doctor's care, he said.

President John Kennedy was opioid dependent to relieve "very severe back pain" while in the White House, he said.

"He did alright as president?" Jackson lawyer Michael Koskoff asked.

"It depends on your political affiliation," Schnoll answered.

The Demerol injections Jackson got during frequent visits to a Beverly Hills dermatologist between April and his death in late June 2009 were given for legitimate medical reasons, Schnoll testified.

If he were addicted to Demerol -- which is a powerful opioid -- he would not have gone 43 days between injections, which medical records show, he said.

Jackson also went roughly 13 years -- from 1993 until 2008 -- without the drug, he said. The doctor conceded under cross-examination by an AEG Live lawyer, however, that a gap in available medical records may be misleading.

Jackson's use of sedatives was an effort to treat his chronic insomnia, Schnoll said.

If the underlying sleep problem could be resolved, the chances of ending Jackson's use of the drugs would have been good, he said.

There was no indication that Jackson was addicted to propofol before Murray began giving him nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic for 60 days leading up to his death, he said.

Unheeded warning signs?

Ortega, in his e-mail to AEG Live CEO Phillips on June 20, wrote that "I honestly don't think he is ready for this based on his continued physical weakening and deepening emotional state."

He said Jackson was having trouble "grasping the work" at rehearsals.

Production manager John "Bugzee" Hougdahl wrote in an e-mail to Phillips hours earlier that Ortega had sent Jackson home from a rehearsal that night because of his strange behavior.

"I have watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his *** if he tried now," Hougdahl wrote. "He was a basket case and Kenny was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet -- get hurt. The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive."

Phillips replied to Ortega: "Please stay steady. Enough alarms have sounded. It is time to put out the fire, not burn the building down."

By "burn the building down," he meant pulling the plug on the tour that was set to begin in three weeks, Phillips testified last month. "In a highly charged situation like this, I just wanted to keep things calm until we could have the meeting."

Phillips met with Murray, Jackson and Ortega at Jackson's home later that day. While Jackson lawyers argue that meeting was intended to pressure Murray to make sure Jackson was ready for rehearsals, AEG lawyers contend Murray assured producers nothing was wrong.

Phillips testified that he remembered little about the conversation at the meeting and Murray has invoked his constitutional protection against self-incrimination to avoid testifying in the trial. This makes Ortega's testimony crucial for both sides.

Hand over evidence or face jail

A related drama could unfold Monday in another courtroom as a judge in Ohio decides if he'll carry out a threat to throw the widow and daughter of a former Jackson manager in jail for refusing to hand over a laptop computer subpoenaed by Jackson lawyers.

Frank DiLeo, who served as Jackson's manager decades earlier, reappeared in his life in his last months. He died in 2011. Jackson lawyers want to search his laptop for evidence to support their contention that DiLeo was beholden to the concert promoter and not to Jackson.

His daughter, Belinda DiLeo, refused a judge's order last week to disclose where the computer was, prompting the contempt of court order. The judge gave the DiLeo's until Monday to hand it over or face jail. A hearing will be held Wednesday to determine of the women complied with the order.

Jackson changed managers twice in the last three months of his life. In late March 2009, he hired Leonard Rowe -- one of his father's friends -- to replace Tohme Tohme, the manager who initially negotiated the deal with AEG for his "This Is It" tour.

Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live forced Jackson to take DiLeo, who had worked for him off and on for decades, as his manager in May 2009 because they did not want to work with Rowe.

A cache of 5,000 e-mails has already been recovered and a lawyer in Ohio is reviewing them to redact non-relevant and personal information before handing them over to Jackson lawyers.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Wed Jul 10, 2013 7:05 pm

Kenny Ortega feared Michael Jackson's tour would fail days before death

By: Alan Duke
July 10, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The director of Michael Jackson's comeback concerts was convinced six days before the pop icon's death that the tour would not happen.

"On the 19th (of June) I had more than a serious concern," Kenny Ortega testified. "I didn't think it was going to go on."

Jackson had missed "a good week" of rehearsals and the only way to reach him was through Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, Ortega said Tuesday, the second day of his testimony in the wrongful death trial of the concert promoter.

"We discussed that unless things changed," they might have to "pull the plug" on the tour, the famed director and choreographer testified Wednesday, his third day on the stand.

Jackson's mother and three children are suing AEG Live, contending the company's executives hired, retained or supervised Murray, who admitted to police he was giving the singer nightly infusions of propofol. The coroner ruled Jackson's June 25, 2009, death was the result of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic, which Murray said he was using to treat Jackson's insomnia.

AEG Live lawyers argue it was Jackson who chose and controlled Murray and their executives had no way of know the dangerous treatment he was giving Jackson in the privacy of the entertainer's bedroom.

Ortega, who had worked with Jackson on other tours and projects, testified that he would have been less likely to agree to direct "This Is It" if he had known what happened the day Jackson was to appear in London to announce the tour.

AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips testified last month that he "slapped" and "screamed" at Jackson because he was "nerve-racked" on that day, March 5, 2009. Phillips recounted that it was "a miracle" that a "drunk and despondent" Jackson finally appeared at the London event. AEG was hosting thousands of Jackson fans and hundreds of journalists for the anticipated announcement, which was to be seen live around the world.

"I screamed at him so loud the walls were shaking," Phillips wrote to AEG parent company CEO Tim Leiweke. "Tohme (Jackson's manager) and I have dressed him, and they are finishing his hair, and then we are rushing to the O2. This is the scariest thing I have ever seen. He's an emotionally paralyzed mess, filled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is show time. He is scared to death. Right now I just want to get through this press conference."

AEG Live executives did not tell Ortega about the incident when they approached him days later to direct the show, he said. He would have been "less likely" to accept the job had he known, because of his concern about how the preparation for the tour would affect Jackson emotionally and physically, he said.

Ortega worked closely with Jackson in April and May preparing for the July debut, but Jackson "was slow at growing into the show" and he began missing rehearsals in June, he said.

After a poor rehearsal on Friday, June 13, and a missed rehearsal the next day, Ortega expressed his concern in an e-mail to AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware: "Were you aware that MJ's Doctor didn't permit him to attend rehearsals yesterday? Are Randy and Frank (DiLeo, another Jackson manager) aware of this? Please have them stay on top of his health situation without invading MJ's privacy. It might be a good idea to talk with his Doctor to make sure everything MJ requires is in place."

The AEG Live executives later told him they met with Murray and put him in charge of getting Jackson to rehearsals, Ortega said. The director said he was told that if he needed to know if Jackson was coming to a rehearsal, he should call the doctor. Ortega was given Murray's cell phone number, which he said he programmed into his own phone.

After Jackson was a no-show for another week, Ortega had a 30-minute conversation with Murray.

"I was told he was creating the schedule and the schedule wasn't working," Ortega testified. "He was my lifeline, so to speak." Ortega said he was venting his frustrations with Jackson and was "crying out."

Although Jackson showed up on June 19, he was "cold, shivering" and unable to rehearse, Ortega said. "On the 19th I had more than a serious concern. I didn't think it was going to go on."

With just a dozen days left for rehearsals before the touring company moved to London for the opening, Ortega testified, he was worried "that all that we had worked for together, Michael and I -- this dream, this desire -- was going to fall away."

He sent a series of e-mails to AEG Live executives warning that Jackson needed "a top psychiatrist to evaluate him ASAP."

Ortega and Murray exchanged 11 calls that next day, according to phone records.

They discussed "a plan to get the schedule in order, because it was my feeling that we weren't going to make it," Ortega testified.

Jackson lawyers argue that Murray was influenced by a conflict of interest, created by his arrangement with AEG Live, that influenced his decision to continue the dangerous -- and eventually fatal -- propofol infusions to help Jackson rest for rehearsals.

He was in $1 million in debt and had abandoned his medical practice two months earlier to serve as Jackson's personal physician for the tour. If he failed to get Jackson to rehearsals, the shows might be postponed or canceled and he would be out of a job, they argue.

The trial, which is in its 11th week, is expected to conclude sometime in August. The Jackson lawyers said they should call their last witness next week, which would be followed by AEG Live presenting its defense.

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by **Admin** Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:32 am

Lawyer confuses Nancy Grace with nanny Grace in Jackson death trial

Los Angeles (CNN) -- An AEG Live lawyer made an embarrassing mistake in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial -- confusing HLN host Nancy Grace with the Jacksons' former nanny.

It happened Thursday as attorney Kathryn Cahan cross examined Taj Jackson -- Michael Jackson's oldest nephew -- who had just described a close and lovely relationship between the late pop icon and his three children.

Did Taj Jackson think Grace Rwaramba -- who served for years as the nanny for Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson -- was "dishonest at times," Cahan asked.

The judge ordered him to answer, overruling a Jackson lawyer's objections that the question was irrelevant to the case.

"I have not experienced her dishonesty," Jackson answered.

Cahan then presented something she apparently thought would discredit Jackson's testimony, showing he was not being honest. It was a "TwitLonger" message posted online by him on December 11, 2011. TwitLonger is a service that allows users to post longer messages on Twitter.

Taj Jackson was discussing his dislike of journalist Roger Friedman, who he called "anti-Jackson" and a "sneaky snake."

"Sorry... but there are a couple of people who truly disgust me. And to me, he belongs in the same category as Grace, Dimond, and Bashir," he wrote.

Compare Michael Jackson in 2001 to 2009 Does that document refresh his recollection of your opinion of Grace Rwaramba, Cahan asked.

"That's not the same," he responded. "That's Nancy Grace!"

Michael Jackson's handwritten note about his son Blanket. It took several seconds for the loud laughter in the courtroom to subside.

A note from 11-year-old Paris Jackson to her dad.Dimond is Diane Dimond, a journalist unpopular with many Jackson fans for writing a book about Jackson's child molestation trial, and Bashir is the journalist who conducted a series of interviews with Jackson that fans blame for triggering the molestation charges.

Grace Rwaramba -- not the TV host -- is expected to testify in the next week about her observations of Michael Jackson's relationship with his children.

If jurors decide that AEG Live is liable for damages in Jackson's death, they will have to place a monetary value on the emotional loss his children suffered. Two handwritten notes found in Jackson's bedroom by the family were read to jurors Thursday in an effort to demonstrate the love.

Taj Jackson identified one as the handwriting of Paris, who was 11 when her father died: "Dear Daddy, I love you so much & I'm so glad I got a goodnight hug. Sleep well. I love you and good night. I'll see you tomorrow. XOX Goodnight. Lots of love Paris Jackson"

The other note was Michael Jackson's handwriting: "Words of Blanket my son, 6 years young. 'What's your favorite letter Daddy? Mine is 'G' for God and D for Daddy' age 6, Blanket."

Jackson lawyer Deborah Chang suggested the father's note showed how dedicated he was to his children since he took time to write down what his young son said.

An expert in entertainment economics will be on the stand when the trial enters its 12th week Monday in a Los Angeles court. Certified Public Accountant Arthur Erk, who audits the earnings of some of the world's biggest entertainers, will give his opinion on how much income Jackson would have earned had he not died of a propofol overdose while preparing for a comeback tour four years ago.

Jackson's mother and three children contend that AEG Live, the promoter and producer of the "This Is It" concerts, was liable for the the negligent hiring, retention or supervision of Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

AEG Live lawyers argue it was Jackson, not their executives, who chose and controlled Dr. Murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous propofol infusions he was giving Jackson to treat his insomnia.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:28 pm

Doctor: Promoter knew about Michael Jackson's drug dependency

Alan Duke
July 14, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's elderly mother will soon tell jurors about her most famous son, as the wrongful death trial of his last concert promoter reaches a midpoint.

Jurors heard one of Jackson's former doctors testify last week that the top producer of Jackson's comeback concerts knew about the singer's drug dependency on a previous tour.

Katherine Jackson, 83, has sat on the front row of the Los Angeles courtroom almost every one of the 46 days of testimony. She's shed tears, sometimes laughed, and at one point last week shouted out the name of one of her son's movies when a witness couldn't remember it.

Her emotional testimony will be followed by AEG Live lawyers presenting their defense, which they've warned will include "ugly stuff" to prove that Michael Jackson was responsible for his own death.

Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live is liable because it hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the pop icon's overdose death. Murray admitted giving Jackson nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic propofol, which the coroner ruled killed the singer on June 25, 2009.

AEG Live lawyers argue their executives had no way of knowing that Murray -- whom they say Jackson chose and controlled -- was giving him the dangerous infusions in the privacy of Jackson's bedroom to treat his insomnia.

"They were a concert promoter. How could they know?" AEG lead lawyer Marvin Putnam asked during his opening statement 12 weeks ago.

"Don't be a Dr. Nick"

Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware -- the top producer of Jackson's "This Is It" comeback tour -- should have known the hazards of hiring Murray because of his personal experience with Jackson and his work with other artists, including as a promoter on Elvis Presley's last tour. Gongaware denied in his testimony that he ever knew that Jackson had drug dependency problems while touring.

But video testimony shown to the jury last week contradicts Gongaware's claim. CNN obtained video segments from the deposition of Dr. Stuart Finkelstein, who served as Jackson's doctor during his 1993 "Dangerous" tour, which ended early because the singer entered a drug rehabilitation program.

"I said I think we're going to have a problem," Finkelstein testified that he told Gongaware, who was then serving as a tour manager on the "Dangerous" tour.

Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle: "Did you tell Mr. Gongaware that you thought Mr. Jackson had a dependency on opiates?"

Finkelstein: "Yes."

Boyle: "And what did Mr. Gongaware say to you?"

Finkelstein: "He said, 'Don't be a Dr. Nick.'"

Boyle: "And by Dr. Nick, was he talking about Elvis?"

Finkelstein: "Yes. He was Elvis' doctor. And I think Elvis died with like 14 different chemicals in his system. And he was kind of warning me that, you know, don't get all infatuated where you start administering meds to a rock star and have the rock star overdose and die on you."

Dr. George Nichopoulos, known as "Dr. Nick," was "the doctor whose overprescription of drugs to Elvis had led to Elvis' death," according to a court filing by Jackson lawyers.

Presley collapsed in the bathroom of Graceland, his Memphis, Tennessee, mansion, on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42. While his death was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, the autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem.

Nichopoulos said later he was treating Presley for insomnia. He was charged with overprescribing drugs to Presley, but he was acquitted. He later lost his medical license in another case.

Presley's death came days before he was to begin a new tour organized by the concert promoter Concerts West, the company that gave Gongaware his start in the music industry. One of his jobs was working with Presley in his last years on the road, he testified.

Jackson "needed to be detoxed"

Finkelstein testified that he and Gongaware had discussions about Jackson's use of Demerol, morphine and other opiates during the "Dangerous" tour.

"We thought we needed to do an intervention, that he needed to be detoxed," Finkelstein said.

The tour came to an early and abrupt end when actress Elizabeth Taylor flew to Mexico City to lead an intervention that convinced Jackson to enter a rehab facility in London.

Finkelstein said Gongaware called him again in the spring of 2009 as preparations for Jackson's comeback tour were beginning.

"Hey, Stewie, you may have another chance," the doctor quoted Gongaware as saying. "Michael's doing another tour to London and he's going to want to take a physician."

"Were you interested in going on that tour to London?" Boyle asked.

"Very much so," Finkelstein replied.

Finkelstein said he had five to 10 conversations with Gongaware about the job with Jackson and he offered to take it for $40,000 a month. But Finkelstein, who is now an addiction specialist, said he had one requirement -- that Jackson be clean of drugs.

Instead, Gongaware agreed to pay Murray $150,000 a month to work as Jackson's personal physician.

Drug dependent, not addicted

A drug addiction expert testified earlier this month that there was "not a lot of evidence to support" the belief that Michael Jackson was addicted to drugs, but that he was "drug dependent."

If he was an addict, Jackson "would be taking drugs that were not prescribed by a medical professional, taking larger amounts than prescribed and have drug-seeking behavior," Dr. Sidney Schnoll testified.

Evidence shows Jackson sought drugs from a number of doctors, but that was not inappropriate because he needed them "to treat a legitimate medical problem," including back pain, scalp pain and dermatologic issues, Schnoll testified.

The painkillers that forced Jackson to end his 1993 "Dangerous" tour early so he could enter a rehab program were taken to relieve the pain from scalp surgery needed to repair burns suffered when filming a Pepsi commercial, Schnoll said.

The burns left scars on damaged nerves in his scalp, which becomes "excitable tissue" that "can be firing just like the nerve," he said. The result "can be very painful, like a burning kind of pain -- persistent, sharp, shooting kind of pain," he said. "It's very uncomfortable and one of the most difficult to treat."

Pain relief is a legitimate use of opioid drugs and a person can function normally if they are taken under a doctor's care, he said.

Jackson went from 1993 until 2008 without using Demerol, Schnoll said. The doctor conceded under cross-examination by an AEG Live lawyer, however, that a gap in available medical records may be misleading.

Finkelstein testified that many of his records for Jackson had been lost.

Jackson's use of sedatives was an effort to treat his chronic insomnia, Schnoll said.

If the underlying sleep problem could be resolved, the chances of ending Jackson's use of the drugs would have been good, he said.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:04 pm

Michael Jackson's mom: 'I want to know what really happened'

By: Alan Duke
July 19, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's mother told jurors she filed a wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live "because I want to know what really happened to my son."

Katherine Jackson, likely the final witness as her lawyers conclude their wrongful death case against the pop icon's last concert promoter, began her testimony Friday and will conclude it Monday in a Los Angeles court.

"The most difficult thing is to sit here in the court and listen to all the bad things they say about my son," Jackson testified.

The 83-year-old matriarch of the world's most famous entertainment family sat on the front row in the small courtroom for most of the 51 previous days of testimony.

"A lot of the facts that have been said are not the truth," she said. She said contrary to what an AEG Live executive wrote in an e-mail as Jackson prepared for his comeback concerts in 2009, her son was not lazy.

But she especially objected to an e-mail from AEG parent company's general counsel that called Jackson "a freak" on the same day his company's top executives were going to his house to sign the "This Is It" tour contract.

"He's not here to speak for himself," his mother said. She said she would "try my best" to speak for the pop icon.

Jurors leaned forward and listened closely during Jackson's testimony and as her lawyer showed them video of her son performing as a child.

The lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson and on behalf of the singer's three children contends AEG Live is liable for the death of Jackson because it hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray. The doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

AEG Live argues it was Jackson, not their company, who chose and controlled Murray, who admitted giving Jackson nightly infusions of a surgical anesthetic the coroner ruled killed him. Its executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments Murray was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom, AEG Live lawyers contend.

"Why are you here?" Jackson lawyer Brian Panish asked Katherine

"Because I want to know what really happened to my son," she said. "And that's why I am here."

Panish asked Jackson how it made her feel to have been asked probing and personal questions about her family by AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putnam during a dozen hours of deposition testimony.

"It makes me feel real bad, because my son was a very good person," she said. "He loved everybody, he gave to charity, he was in the Guinness Book of World Records for giving to charity."

Putnam faces the challenge of not appearing unkind to Katherine Jackson while also trying to discredit her testimony.

"Forget it," she said as she stopped before answering Putnam's question about why she initially included, and later dropped show director Kenny Ortega as a defendant in her lawsuit.

"Forget what ma'am?" Putnam asked.

Jackson remained silent for about a minute, staring back at Putnam.

Would it help to reread the question, he asked.

"No, it wouldn't be helpful," Jackson answered curtly.

The judge finally ordered the question stricken from the record because the answer involved privileged discussions with her lawyers.

Jackson returned to the stand after the lunch break but she told the judge she was tired after just a few more minutes of questioning by Putnam. The judge sent jurors home two hours early and will allow Katherine Jackson to resume her testimony Monday morning.

If jurors decide that AEG Live is liable in Jackson's death, they could award damages based on the loss of the mother's and children's relationship with him and the amount of money he was unable to earn because his life was cut short.

The wrongful death trial is about to get a lot uglier, if defense lawyers live up to the promise of their opening statements.

AEG Live lawyers this week brought up the child molestation charges against Jackson and the 2002 incident in which the pop star "dangled" his infant son on a Berlin hotel balcony.

Touring till 66?

Paris Jackson made another appearance in the trial this week -- via a video of her deposition in March. Jurors saw a clip of AEG Live lawyer Putnam asking the 15-year-old what her father told her about his "This Is It" tour:

Putnam: "Did he explain to you how long the tour was going to last?"

Paris: "I assume a long time since it was a world tour, but those usually last a long time"

Putnam: "How did you understand it was a world tour?"

Paris: "Because he told us."

Putnam: "What did he tell you?"

Paris: "That we were going around the world on tour."

Certified public accountant Arthur Erk, who has managed and audited the business affairs of many top artists, testified Wednesday that he is "reasonably certain" that Jackson would have performed 260 shows around the world as part of his "This Is It" tour. He would have earned $890 million over the three years of concerts in Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Australia, Erk said.

Jackson would have earned at least $1.5 billion from touring, endorsements and sponsorships had he not died preparing for his comeback tour, Erk said.

AEG Live's unprecedented sellout of 50 shows scheduled for London's O2 Arena in 2009 and 2010 proved there was "pent-up demand" to see Jackson live, despite controversies that had tarnished his reputation in the years since his last tour in 1998, Erk said.

An e-mail from AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips said fans bought all 750,000 tickets put on sale for 31 shows in March 2009 in just two hours. Enough buyers were registered to sell out another 100 shows, Phillips wrote.

"Dude, we're going to sell out a ridiculous amount of tickets," AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware wrote in an e-mail. "We've got to get Mikey to add more shows."

Jackson's manager quickly approved another 19 shows, bringing the total to 50.

"Ten million tickets for the rest of the world? They would have gobbled up those tickets in seconds," Erk said.

AEG Live lawyer Sabrina Strong challenged Erk's estimate, asking if any other act has ever made as much money on a tour. "No," he said. "This would have been a record-breaking world tour."

Jackson would have done another 195 shows over four more world tours before retiring from the road at age 66, Erk predicted.

Putnam called Erk's estimates "a creation, a fabrication" which suggests Jackson would have made more after age 50 that he did in the three tours during the "height of his fame."

Jackson never intended to perform after the 50 shows in London, Putnam said.

AEG Live showed jurors a video clip of Katherine Jackson's deposition, in which she said her son would joke that he "didn't want to be moonwalking on stage at 50."

"Michael said that quite a few years back and he was joking," his mother explained in her testimony Friday. "I thought it was funny and most of us said things like that. I used to think 50 was very old."

In fact, Jackson was 50 when he signed a three-year contract with AEG Live for his comeback tour, which would have likely included his famous moonwalk dance steps as he performed "Billie Jean."

"We announced that we're going to have one tour in London, that's what was announced, and it was called 'This Is It,' meaning in London, this show is it," he said. "This show is it. This is the last thing he's ever going to do. As a result of this being his final performance ever, to be at the O2 in London, there was enormous response, understandably, and therefore we sold 50 shows."

With the Jackson case ending -- which Putnam called "ridiculous" -- "now we're going to start to show what actually occurred here," he said.

No Conrad Murray testimony

AEG Live's defense team confirmed Wednesday that they would not be calling Murray to testify.

"I have no intention of calling him myself, unless it's requested, your honor," Putnam said, replying to the judge's question about his plans.

Until now, AEG Live lawyers have suggested they might call Murray, who is serving a four-year jail sentence for involuntary manslaughter, to the witness stand.

Murray's lawyer gave the Jackson and AEG Live lawyers a sworn statement from the doctor before the trial began stating that he would invoke his constitutional protection against self-incrimination by refusing to answer questions if subpoenaed.

See you in September

Jurors, who were told when the trial started in April that it could end sometime in August, appeared unfazed when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos told them this week that it is likely to extend into mid-September. Putnam estimated this week that he needs about 30 days in court to present his defense after the plaintiffs rest.

The jurors often have laughed and smiled in reaction to testimony and the interplay between Jackson lead lawyer Brian Panish, the judge and the AEG defense team.

For example, when Palazuelos ordered Panish to turn around and face the bench while AEG attorney Sabrina Strong cross-examined Erk, jurors seemed amused. Panish, whose seat was just in front of Strong's lectern, had been looking directly up at her at close range.

There were no laughs in the hallway after court on Tuesday when Panish and Putnam exchanged words. The two lawyers were standing about 15 feet apart, each talking to reporters, when they began directing their words at each other. The court clerk interrupted the heated conversation, threatening to summon deputies.

Palazuelos lectured the lawyers in her chambers the next morning and imposed new rules that bar them from speaking to journalists in the hallway.

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by midangerous Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:10 pm

Michael Jackson's mom faces cross examination in death trial

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's mother faces more questioning Monday from a lawyer for the concert promoter she's suing in her son's death.

Katherine Jackson became "confused and tired" when AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putnam asked her "some pretty complex questions very fast" during his cross examination Friday, her attorney said.

"She was trying to answer the questions the best she could," Jackson lawyer Brian Panish said. "I think maybe she lost her temper a little bit and she tried to restrain herself in a very Christian-like way."

The judge adjourned court two hours early Friday when Jackson told her she needed to rest, but she resumes her testimony in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday morning. She is the lead plaintiff -- along with Michael Jackson's three children -- in a wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live. The suit contends the agency is liable in his death because it hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who is serving a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter in the pop icon's death.

AEG Live lawyers, who will begin presenting their defense once Katherine Jackson's testimony ends, promised in opening statements 12 weeks ago to show the jury "ugly stuff" to prove that Michael Jackson was responsible for his own death.

Jackson testified that she filed the lawsuit "because I want to know what really happened to my son."

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from an overdose of a surgical anesthetic administered by Murray, just two weeks before his "This It It" concerts were set to premiere at AEG's O2 Arena in London.

His mother testified that she believed her son could have completed the 50 scheduled shows concerts "if they had been spaced out."

She called AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips because she was worried that the schedule didn't give him enough rest between shows.

"I told him Michael can't do those shows, you have to change the schedule," she said. "If they spaced them out, he could have done a million shows."

Humble beginnings

Last week, jurors appeared to pay close attention, leaning forward and often smiling, as the matriarch of one of the world's most famous entertainment families recounted how she and her husband raised nine children in a tiny Gary, Indiana, home. They saw rare home videos of the Jacksons and heard songs Michael wrote for his children.

"I want the jurors to just recognize that there's people involved in this case," Panish said, explaining the significance of the mother's testimony. "We've seen a lot of testimony about numbers and e-mails, but there are people behind it all."

The testimony was perhaps more intimate and revealing than a Barbara Walters television special. As with a Walters interview, there were tears.

Katherine Jackson's family moved to East Chicago, Illinois, just three years after she was born in rural Barbour County, Alabama, in 1930, she said. She wore a brace on her left leg as a child because she suffered from polio.

Musical talent ran in her family, including a great-grandfather known as "a very good singer." She played the clarinet in the high school band.

She was 19 when she married Joe Jackson, a 21-year-old steel mill worker. The couple bought a four-room house, about the size of a garage, that was coincidentally located on Jackson Street in Gary, she said.

The two oldest girls slept on a couch in the living room, while the boys slept on bunk beds in one of the two bedrooms, she said. The closeness may have contributed to their music careers. "I would wake up to the boys harmonizing and singing," Jackson said.

The growing family lived "payday to payday," stretching the money by dressing the children in homemade clothes, getting shoes from the Salvation Army, watching newspaper ads for sales and driving into the country to pick vegetables, she said.

"I knew how to cook a potato in every way," Jackson joked, when asked if she was a good cook.

Jackson took a sales clerk job at the Sears Roebuck store in Gary just before her youngest child, Janet, came along, she said.

Young Michael was "a sweet little boy," she said, always "sensitive and loving." His mother recounted how 3-year-old Michael held Randy's hand and cried because his younger brother was sick.

His mother saw early signs of her son's talent. He would kick while in her arms when he heard music, she said. "When he started to walk, he was dancing."

Michael's earliest dancing was to the rhythm of a rusty old washing machine. "He was down there dancing while sucking the bottle to the squeaking of the washer," she said.

He would "save his pennies and nickels" to buy candy, which he used to set up a store. "He liked to play 'store man,' " she testified.

While the family had an old television set, it would often break down, she said. Her children first started singing for entertainment when there was no money to pay the TV repairman.

The brothers took their singing beyond the home by entering school talent shows. "It had got so that they won all the contests," she said. "They would see the Jacksons coming and say 'Oh, my God, they're going to win again.'"

Their mother initially named their group "The Jackson Brothers 5," but a woman who was composing an ad for an appearance shortened it to "The Jackson 5," she said.

Michael's first public performance came when he sang "Climb Every Mountain" in a school program when he was just 5, she said.

"He started singing the song, and he sang it with such clarity, not flat or anything. I sat there and cried. He got a standing ovation."

Although Jermaine was initially the lead singer, Michael got the job after his mother forced her husband to listen to him sing, she said.

Singing gigs started to pay after Motown artists Gladys Knight & the Pips and The Temptations began hiring them as opening acts whenever they were performing near Gary, she said. Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. signed the Jackson 5 to a contract, and their first four singles became No. 1 hits, she said.

The family moved to Los Angeles just as "Jackson mania" was breaking out, she said. "There were so many girls around he house I got so tired of it," she said.

Jurors saw a clip of 14-year-old Michael singing "Ben" at the Oscar Awards in 1973. "He liked that song because he liked the rats," his mother said.

She then told a story about discovering her son had a mouse in his pocket during dinner at a Beverly Hills restaurant. "I was very upset with him."

'Everything went dark'

Jackson described when she learned her son had died at the emergency room at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

"Everything went dark and I just started screaming," she said.

Then the children -- Prince, Paris and Blanket -- were told.

"Paris was screaming, looking up at the sky saying 'Daddy, I want to go with you, I can't live without you,' " she testified. "Paris looked at me and asked 'Grandma, where are we going?' I told her 'You're going home with grandma.' "

Paris has had "the hardest time" since her father's death, she said.

"One of my grandchildren told me that she would tell them that she wants to go where her daddy was," she said.

Now 15, Paris has been in a psychiatric facility for treatment since a suicide attempt on June 5.

Jackson lawyers punctuated their presentation with a montage of home videos of Michael Jackson with his children, using a recording of his song "Speechless." Jackson said her son wrote the song about a father's love for his children -- and the lack of words to express it -- in just 45 minutes.

"Mrs. Jackson, do you miss your son?" Panish asked her as he concluded his direct questioning

"Words can't explain," she replied.

Cross examination by AEG team

Putnam's questioning of Katherine Jackson began when he inquired whether it was her personal decision -- or someone else's -- to file the wrongful death lawsuit.

It was hers alone, she said. She did not discuss it with her husband or grandchildren.

"I've heard a lot of stories," she said. The trial may bring her answers, she hoped.

"I want to know the truth, what happened to him," she said.

Jackson appeared upset, complaining about the suggestions by an AEG Live lawyer last week that her son was broke when he died.

"Because he gave it to charity," she said. "It hurts to sit here and listen to all those things."

She complained to Putnam that AEG Live executives did not call "an outside doctor" to help her son after show director Kenny Ortega told them he needed urgent help in his last days.

"My son needed another doctor, not Dr. Murray," she said.

Jackson then recalled an e-mail written by a top AEG executive referring to Michael Jackson as "the freak" just hours before their company signed the pop icon to a huge concert deal.

"They called him a freak," she said. "They were making fun of him -- 'Finally get a chance to meet the freak.' "

"My son is dead," she said. "He's not here to talk for himself."

Dr. Conrad Murray testimony?

The doctor who was convicted in Jackson's death is "following the trial closely" from the jail where he is serving a four-year sentence, his lawyer, Valerie Wass, said Friday. She was in the courtroom to hear Jackson's testimony.

She surprised reporters afterward by hinting that Murray may be willing to testify in the trial, despite earlier signing a statement saying he would not since his appeal is still pending.

"It's been his intention all along to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege, but it's something we're re-evaluating on a daily basis, and it's possible he might want to testify," Wass said. He might "be willing to testify about certain aspects of the case."

AEG Live's defense team told the judge last week they have no intention of calling the doctor as a witness. Jackson's lead lawyer said Friday he's not "sure Conrad Murray is going to add much."

"I don't see how he could be incriminated by telling the truth at this point," Wass said. "We're considering it. We're both discussing the issue."

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by WeAreTheWorld. Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:52 pm

AEG Live defense begins effort to show Michael Jackson had drug addiction

By: Alan Duke
July 23, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson "had a real monkey on his back" with a longtime drug addiction his family kept secret from the world, and it led to his overdose death, a lawyer for AEG Live said.

The concert promoter's defense against the Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit begins Tuesday and will include testimony from "all of the many, many doctors" who treated Jackson over the past decades, AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam said.

It will also include a parade of Jackson family members, including a return appearance by matriarch Katherine Jackson, who just concluded two days of testimony as her lawyers presented their case.

"They kept his private world private as best they could and now they would like to blame somebody else for things that only they knew privately," Putnam said.

Michael Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live, which was producing and promoting his comeback concerts, is liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, which the coroner ruled was caused by an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. The doctor told investigators he was using the drug to treat Jackson's insomnia as he prepared for his "This Is It" debut in London.

Jackson, not AEG Live, chose and controlled Murray, Putnam argued. He said in his opening statements at the start of the trial 12 weeks ago he would show jurors "ugly stuff" about Jackson to prove that AEG Live executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving in the privacy of Jackson's bedroom.

The appearance of Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's 83-year-old mother, as a concluding witness in her case gave Putnam a chance to probe what family members knew about Jackson's drug abuse history.

"There are a lot of enormous inconsistencies in what is being said and what the truth is," Putnam told reporters Monday after he finished his cross-examination of Katherine Jackson.

She "reported to the world and to the press that he never had a problem with prescription drugs," that he never entered drug rehab and that the family never attempted an intervention to stop his drug use, he said. "As we now know, Michael Jackson had a longtime problem with prescription drugs, so what had been told to the world during his lifetime wasn't true."

The Jackson family's lawyer, Brian Panish, said AEG Live executives were "in the best position to help Michael Jackson" when they saw his health deteriorating in the last two months of his life.

Show director Kenny Ortega sent a series of e-mails to top AEG Live executives warning them that Jackson showed "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" at a rehearsal.

"I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP," Ortega wrote. "It's like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not waiting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state."

Production manager John "Bugzee" Houghdahl sent an e-mail to producers saying he "watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his *** if he tried now."

"They knew he was having a problem," Panish said. "He needed them for this concert. They could have easily told him, 'Look, until you go see the appropriate doctor and come back, we're not going on with the rehearsal.' They're the only ones that really had the ability to do something about it and they chose not to."

Ortega testified this month that he thought AEG Live should have halted production on the show until Jackson was well.

Despite the e-mail evidence and testimony, Putnam insisted Monday that AEG Live executives knew nothing about Jackson's failing health.

"They had little interaction with Michael Jackson in terms of the production and promotion of that," Putnam said, adding that the executives "certainly" did not know "that he was having any problems."

But Panish said the executives should have known: "He was deteriorating in front of their own eyes."

"They watched him waste away," Katherine Jackson testified.

Jackson testified in her first day on the stand Friday that she filed the lawsuit "because I want to know what really happened to my son."

During cross-examination, the AEG Live lawyer played a clip from an interview she gave to NBC a year after her son's death in which she said Michael Jackson had hired the doctor. In response, her lawyer argued she made the statement before seeing AEG e-mails indicating that the company hired him.

Putnam questioned her about a statement she and several of her children signed in 2007 accusing People Magazine of publishing "untrue and inaccurate information" about Michael Jackson's drug use.

"We categorically deny ever planning, participating in, or having knowledge of any kind of intervention, whatsoever," the statement read.

Katherine Jackson acknowledged, however, that she participated in an attempted intervention with her son at his Neverland Ranch in 2002.

"I wanted them to stop lying," she testified, referring to the magazine. "I was worried about all the lies they were telling about the family."

"Was it a lie to say your son had a problem with prescription drugs?" Putnam asked.

"He did not have a problem," she insisted.

Putnam later asked Jackson's mother if she liked to "shut your ears to bad things."

"I don't like to hear bad news," she said.

Jackson appeared combative at times when Putnam cross-examined her, punching back at his questions.

"What does this have to do with my son dying?" she replied at one point.

"I think she was badgered, but that wasn't the first time," Panish told reporters later. "In her deposition, she was asked questions like, "Does your husband ever beat you?'"

For the pretrial deposition, she was questioned for about 12 hours over three days.

Putnam denied he was being overly aggressive in his questioning of her.

"I just wanted to know the facts from her and there was no reason to be aggressive with her," he said. "She was combative, but you can't blame Mrs. Jackson for that. None of us want to find ourselves in a situation where we're having to confront the very public death of our child."

Putnam refused to discuss why he asked Katherine Jackson in the deposition if her husband, Joe Jackson, ever beat her.

"What occurred in those depositions was confidential at Mrs. Jackson's request, therefore I am not at liberty to go into to the private matters that we went into in that deposition," Putnam told CNN. However, Katherine Jackson and her lawyer both brought up the question in court Monday.

"I am not going to go into what we went into about the very tragic history Michael Jackson had with his parents and father over the period of his life," Putnam said. "That is something we did not go into on the stand because it is not relevant. I'm not bringing that up."

AEG Live executive John Meglen is on the witness stand Tuesday as the company's defense presentation begins. Testimony is expected to last into September, the judge told the jury.

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by **MJ Mod** Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:34 pm

AEG Live exec: 'Celine Dion's bigger than MJ'

By: Alan Duke
July 25, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A top executive with AEG Live insists Celine Dion is a "bigger" artist than Michael Jackson.

John Meglin, testifying Wednesday at the wrongful death trial of AEG Live, also downplayed how many tickets Jackson could have sold if he had not died while preparing for his comeback concerts.

AEG Live lawyers are challenging an entertainment expert hired by Jackson lawyers who estimated the King of Pop would have earned $1.5 billion touring the world before his 66th birthday had he not died from an overdose of a surgical anesthetic at age 50.

Michael Jackson's mother and three children contend the company is liable for damages because it hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death.

If jurors agree, they could then use estimates of Jackson's lost earnings as a guide to determine how much AEG Live -- the promoter and producer of his "This Is It" tour -- must pay the Jacksons in damages.

AEG Live lawyers argue that Jackson -- not its executives -- chose and controlled Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who signed a $150,000 a month contract with the company to serve as Jackson's doctor for the tour. AEG Live executives never signed the contract, which Murray returned to them just hours before Jackson's death.

A nurse anesthetist will testify Thursday about administering anesthesia to Jackson during a medical procedure. He will be the first of what AEG Live lead lawyer Marvin Putnam said would be a parade of "many, many" medical professionals who treated Jackson. The company will try to prove that Jackson was a secretive drug addict, which prevented promoters from knowing about the dangers he faced under Murray's care.

Meglin, who has been a concert promoter since the 1970s, is the CEO of Concerts West, the division of AEG Live that was in charge of Michael Jackson's tour. He was the first witness called as the company began presenting its defense in the 13th week of the trial.

Much of his testimony was focused on attacking the analysis of certified public accountant Arthur Erk, who testified last week that he was "reasonably certain" that Jackson would have performed 260 shows around the world as part of his "This Is It" tour. He would have earned $890 million over the three years of concerts in Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Australia, Erk said.

Jackson would have earned at least $1.5 billion from touring, endorsements and sponsorships had he lived to age 66, Erk said.

Erk's analysis suggested Jackson would stage many of his shows in large stadiums, with more than 90,000 fans buying tickets to many of the concerts. But Meglin testified that his experience told him that no stadiums would seat that many people for Jackson's kind of show. The Erk estimates were inflated by about 30%, Meglin testified.

The Rose Bowl would only seat 60,000, Meglin said. Although Billboard Magazine reported that U2 performed for 97,000 people in the Pasadena, California, venue in 2009, Meglin said he was "trusting my gut" that the numbers were inflated. "I know how those numbers can be manipulated," he said.

Jackson lead lawyer Brian Panish noted that 98,000 people were in the Rose Bowl seats when Michael Jackson performed the halftime show for Super Bowl 27 in 1993.

Meglin also contested Erk's suggestion that Jackson would have taken his tour to India for at least three shows.

"Nobody goes to India," he said. He later acknowledged that Jackson performed there during his HIStory tour.

"It's not a very big market," Meglin said of India, which is home to about 1.25 billion people.

Meglin also disagreed with what one of his superiors, AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, wrote in an e-mail that there was enough demand in England alone to sell out more that 200 Jackson shows. "He believed that," Meglin testified. "I don't believe that."

Fans bought all 750,000 tickets put on sale for 31 shows in March 2009 in just two hours, Phillips said. Enough buyers were already registered to sell out another 100 shows, Phillips wrote.

Meglin also disagreed with Phillips' opinion that Michael Jackson was the biggest entertainment artist ever.

"I do myself personally believe that that is not true," Meglin testified Wednesday. "In my opinion Celine Dion is right up there with Michael Jackson and, to me, she is bigger."

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by WeAreTheWorld. Fri Jul 26, 2013 3:11 pm

Michael Jackson's drug use explored in trial

By: Alan Duke
July 26, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A nurse who administered propofol to Michael Jackson more than a dozen times said the pop star did not appear to be a drug-seeker.

David Fournier was called as a witness Thursday by AEG Live in an effort to convince jurors that Jackson was so deceptive and secretive about his drug use that its executives had no way of knowing his health was in danger as he prepared for his comeback concerts.

An economist hired by the concert promoter's lawyers will testify Friday in an effort to downplay how much money Jackson might have earned had he not died at age 50 -- an important issue if the jury decides AEG Live is liable in his death.

Michael Jackson's mother and three children contend the company negligently hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death -- which the coroner ruled was caused by an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol.

AEG Live argues that Jackson chose and controlled Dr. Conrad Murray, who told investigators he gave Jackson nightly infusions of propofol to treat his insomnia.

Fournier, a certified nurse anesthetist, testified about an incident on June 3, 2003 in which Jackson stopped breathing while under sedation for a procedure with Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein. After Jackson suffered a "somewhat bizarre reaction" during the sedation, Klein told Fournier it might be because the singer had an "opioid antagonist" implant. It was intended to help treat a dependence on Demerol, he said.

"You expect your clients and doctors be honest with you and I felt ambushed and was upset," Fournier testified. The nurse said it made him angry at both Klein and Jackson.

AEG Live lawyers hope jurors see the incident as evidence that Jackson was dishonest about his drug use, which would support their contention that their executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was getting from Murray.

Fournier also testified that Jackson failed to follow his instructions in two instances after being sedated for procedures. Jackson went to a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant for a bucket of chicken instead of going home and eating crackers, he testified. Another time he went to a rehearsal for a Grammy show performance and sprained his ankle, he said.

Every instance where Jackson was given propofol was medically justified, Fournier said. The 14 times he administered it between 2000 and 2003 involved plastic surgeries, dermatological procedures and oral surgeries, he said.

He first sedated Jackson in 1993 when he was being treated for serious scalp burns suffered while filming a Pepsi commercial several years earlier, he said.

Some of the 25 times he was hired to assist with Jackson's procedures no drugs were given, he said. He would just hold his hand and assure him it would be all right.

Jackson never asked for specific drugs and never quarreled with him, he said. All of the doctors who treated him were respected physicians, he said.

Fournier's friendly relationship with Jackson ended in November 2003 when he canceled a procedure because Jackson was "a little goofy, a little slow to respond." Fournier said he refused to sedate Jackson because he suspected he was lying to him about his use of drugs.

"Despite 10 years of good quality care and taking good care of him for a long period of time, he never called me," he said.

AEG Live's lead lawyer has said he would call as witnesses "many, many, doctors" who have treated Jackson to make their case that he was a secretive drug addict.

The trial in a Los Angeles court concludes its 13th week Friday and is expected to last into September.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Tue Jul 30, 2013 5:07 pm

Bad news hurt Michael Jackson's earning potential, witness says

By: Alan Duke
July 30, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Negative headlines about drugs and sex abuse charges greatly diminished Michael Jackson's earning potential, an entertainment consultant said.

Jackson's album sales dropped sharply from his peak and his "likability" rating turned dramatically negative after "significantly negative headlines, drug abuse and other issues," Eric Briggs testified.

Briggs' testimony in the wrongful death trial of AEG Live is intended to counter an expert hired by Jackson lawyers who concluded the pop icon would have earned another $1.5 billion from world tours had he not died while preparing for his comeback concerts.

AEG Live placed a big bet on Jackson's ability to sell tickets when it signed him to a three-year deal for his "This Is It" tour. While the company worked hard to convince Jackson in 2009 to let them produce and promote the concerts, it paid Briggs more than $700,000 to prepare testimony for this trial questioning Jackson's star power.

In fact, AEG Live executives bragged at the time about how Jackson's first 50 London concerts sold out in record time with enough potential buyers lined up to sell out another 50 shows.

If a jury decides that AEG Live is liable for Jackson's death, his lost earnings potential would factor into their determination of damages to be paid by the concert promoter.

Michael Jackson's mother and three children are suing AEG Live, contending it negligently hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death.

AEG Live lawyers argue that Jackson, not their executives, chose and controlled Dr. Conrad Murray and that they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom.

They contend the singer was so deceptive and secretive about his medical treatments and drug use that even his family did not know. To help make their case, they'll play video of Jackson's youngest brother Randy being questioned about it. His testimony is expected to be shown to jurors after Brigg's testimony is concluded Wednesday.

Jackson's oldest sister Rebbie and ex-wife Debbie Rowe are also lined up to testify in the coming days. AEG Live is compelling their testimony, hoping to get revelations about Jackson's drug use.

Tuesday marks the 59th day of testimony in the trial, which the judge said could take another six weeks in a Los Angeles courtroom.

MJ's Q score

Briggs testified that he studied "Q score" data for Jackson, the trend of his album sales and his stability to conclude that Jackson had a low chance of earning money from endorsements and sponsorships.

An entertainment industry analyst hired by Jackson lawyers testified he was "reasonably certain" Jackson would have earned $300 million from endorsements and sponsorships.

Briggs disputed the estimate, saying that while Jackson was "a great performer" companies decide which celebrities to align their products with based on "likability" as measured by "Q scores."

Jackson's "Q score" in 1993 was in line with the average male musical performer, with about one person of every two surveyed saying they liked him, Briggs said. That was the year Jackson announced he had a problem with painkillers, and he entered rehab.

His score became dramatically negative over the next decade, Briggs said. By 2006, a year after he was acquitted in a child molestation trial, more than seven people said they disliked Jackson for every one who said they liked him, Briggs testified.

Companies would be "very anxious" about putting someone with such negative "likability" next to their products, he said.

Jackson lawyer Brian Panish will have a chance to question Briggs about his conclusions Tuesday.

AEG Live exec: 'Celine Dion's bigger than MJ'

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by **MJ Mod** Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:33 pm

Michael Jackson's estate consultant helps AEG Live's defense

By: Alan Duke
July 31, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A lawyer for Michael Jackson's estate gave an entertainment industry consultant permission to help AEG Live in its defense of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the pop singer's mother, the expert testified.

The revelation was a surprise to Katherine Jackson, who was sitting in court Tuesday listening to the expert testify that he believed her son would not have earned any money even if he had not died of a propofol overdose.

If jurors decide AEG Live is liable in Jackson's death, testimony by Eric Briggs -- whose company billed the concert promoter $700,000 to prepare his opinion -- could be used to determine how much in damages the company would have to pay to Michael Jackson's mother and three children.

Briggs, however, previously consulted for the Jackson estate in determining a value of it's biggest asset -- the Sony-ATV music catalog that includes the Beatles songs. He testified that before he signed a contract to serve as an expert in AEG Live's defense he sought and gained permission from the Jackson estate lawyer Jeryll Cohen to waive any potential conflict of interest.

"She (Cohen) was well aware of everything that was going on," Briggs testified.

A spokesman for the Michael Jackson estate was unaware of the circumstances or reasons why the estate would approve the waiver that could be counter to the interests of its beneficiaries -- Jackson's mother and three children.

An entertainment industry analyst hired by Jackson lawyers testified he was "reasonably certain" Jackson would have earned $1.5 billion from touring before retiring if he had not died while preparing for his comeback concerts in 2009.

Briggs testified that it was "speculative" that Jackson would have even completed the 50 "This Is It" concerts that AEG Live had already sold out in London.

Briggs said that based on what he'd learned from testimony in the case, he believed that Jackson would have died before the first show -- even if he had not suffered the fatal overdose of a surgical anesthetic on June 25, 2009. He cited the testimony of a doctor who said that Jackson would have been dead within a week if he remained under the care of Dr. Conrad Murray.

The Jackson lawsuit contends AEG Live is liable in Jackson's death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the pop icon's death.

The Erk opinion included $300 million that he estimated Jackson would have earned from endorsements and sponsorships. But Briggs testified that "significantly negative headlines, drug abuse and other issues" had ruined Jackson's ability to earn endorsement and sponsorship money.

"Q score" data for Jackson, which measures his "likability," became dramatically negative by 2006 -- a year after he was acquitted in a child molestation trial, he testified. More than seven people said they disliked Jackson for every one who said they liked him, he said. Companies would be "very anxious" about putting someone with such a negative "likability" next to their products, he said.

One issue hurting Jackson's endorsement deal potential was his financial debt, estimated to be $400 million at the time of his death, Briggs said.

But Jackson lawyer Brian Panish asked Briggs if he considered that Jackson's assets -- most notably the Sony-ATV catalogue -- were greater than his debts.

Briggs stuttered on the witness stand, saying he was reluctant to discuss Jackson's assets because of a client confidentiality issue. He eventually acknowledged that he had worked for the Jackson estate as a consultant analyzing the value of the music catalog. He signed a confidentiality agreement with the estate, which he said prevented him from discussing it.

His company did, however, clear his participation in the wrongful death case with a Jackson estate lawyer before he agreed to be an expert for AEG Live, he said.

Briggs also said AEG Live lawyers were aware of the potential conflict before hiring him and had no problem with it.

Wednesday is the 60th day of testimony in the trial, which began 14 weeks ago in a Los Angeles County court. The judge told jurors she expects testimony to conclude in mid-September.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:13 pm

Michael Jackson's ex-bodyguard testifies about singer's drug use

By: Alan Duke
August 5, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's former security chief testified that he worried at times that the singer might overdose on drugs, but he didn't think he was an addict.

Michael LePerruque, who traveled with the pop icon for three years a decade ago, returns to the stand Monday for more testimony in the wrongful death trial of Jackson's last concert promoter.

AEG Live called LePerruque as a witness in an effort to show jurors that Jackson was a secretive drug addict, making it impossible for its executives to know his life was in danger as he prepared for his comeback tour.

Michael Jackson's mother and three children are suing the promoter, contending the company is liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.

LePerruque, however, spoke glowingly of Jackson and after his first day of testimony last week he sought out Katherine Jackson to give his former boss's mother a hug.

He was hired as the chief of Jackson's travel security team after he retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, where he served as a deputy for 22 years. Part of his training involved recognition of when someone was under the influence of drugs, he said.

Jackson called him between 20 and 30 times from his hotel room "in the middle of the night," LePerruque testified. "His speech would be very slurred. There would be a lot of mumbling, and I wouldn't be able to comprehend what he was saying."

He would go to Jackson's room many of those nights to check to make sure he was alright, he said. He appeared to be intoxicated, he said. "I think he was just lonely and wanted to have somebody to talk to."

Under cross examination by Jackson lawyer Deborah Chang, LePerruque said Jackson's intoxication appeared to be consistent with someone drinking alcohol and taking sedatives to sleep.

Did he think he was addicted to drugs? "I wouldn't be able to say that he was addicted to those," he answered.

The security chief said he would sometimes notice empty wine bottles from the hotel room's minibar, but he never saw drugs. He also never witnessed Jackson take medications, he said.

He described a scary incident in 2001 when Jackson's children dialed 911 for help when they found their father passed out in the hallway of their suite at a Disney World hotel in Orlando, Florida.

Paris and Prince, then just 3 and 4 years old, were "crying, saying they couldn't wake up daddy," he testified. Jackson woke up after LePerruque performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and shook him, he said. Paramedics found no signs of a drug overdose, he said.

"It was my concern that, yes, he may overdose," LePerruque said.

LePerruque said he never confronted Jackson about his drug use because he "didn't want to put him on the defensive." To do so might have created a barrier, he said. "I wanted to be able to be close to him to monitor him to protect him."

The incidents of slurred speech and incoherent late night phone calls did not happen over the entire time LePerruque worked with Jackson, he said.

Jackson "fought very, very hard not to be on the prescription medications," LaPerruque testified.

He told of one conversation in which Jackson told him he was not going to use drugs again.

"Do I seem clear?" he said Jackson asked him. "I just want you to know that I'm going to stay this way, that I'm not going back to the way I was."

Their late night talks revealed to the guard that Jackson had trouble getting to sleep, a problem that would eventually lead to his death. He told him he couldn't sleep because his brain wouldn't stop creating music.

"He said that as an artist he always had a tune in his head, different melodies, and he wasn't able to stop it," La Perruque said. "It was always constant going through his brain.

The coroner ruled that Jackson died of an overdose of propofol, which Murray told investigators he was using to treat the singer's insomnia.

The incidents in which Jackson appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs became more frequent after the broadcast of a documentary based on Martin Bashir's extensive interviews with him. LaPerruque said Jackson was "very devastated" by what he thought was the betrayal of trust he had with Bashir. Child molestation charges were filed in Santa Barbara County, California, after the broadcast.

LaPerruque said he never believed the criminal charges against Jackson were true. If he suspected he was molesting children he would be the first to slap handcuffs on him, he said.

"I came out in full support of him," LaPerruque said.

Jackson was acquitted on all charges after a trial.

LaParruque called Jackson "very down to earth," saying he was proud to have worked for him.

"There were times there were difficulties, but for the most part it was a pleasure working for him," he said.

He noted that one problem Jackson had was keeping up with his cell phones. He lost 27 of them, he said.

The wrongful death trial begins its 15th week in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday. The judge projected the trial will last until the middle of September.

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by midangerous Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:31 pm

AEG lawyer testifies in Michael Jackson death trial

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Dr. Conrad Murray claimed he was giving up a $1-million-a-month medical practice to serve as Michael Jackson's doctor, a lawyer testified Tuesday.

Kathy Jorrie, who negotiated and wrote the contract between AEG Live and Murray, was called as a witness in the wrongful death trial of the concert promoter.

Murray, who agreed to work as Jackson's full-time physician for his comeback concerts for $150,000 a month, is serving a prison term for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's drug overdose death.
Who\'s who in Jackson trial Who's who in Jackson trial
Jackson wrongful death case

Michael Jackson's mother and three children are suing AEG Live, contending the concert promoter was liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Murray.

Murray told Jorrie during negotiations that he was closing down four medical clinics that were making $1 million each month to take the job, Jorrie testified.

Testimony in Murray's criminal trial revealed he only operated two clinics -- one in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the other in Houston, Texas.

A Los Angeles Police detective testified earlier in this civil trial that Murray was more than $1 million in debt and that his Las Vegas medical clinic faced eviction in the months before he was hired to treat Jackson.

Jackson lawyers argue AEG Live executives were negligent because they failed to check Murray's background, which they contend would have revealed his debts and misrepresentations about his successful practices.

Michael Jackson trial: Who is Debbie Rowe?

AEG Live executives testified that they relied on assurances by Jackson that Murray was his "longtime personal doctor," concluding that he was competent for the tour position.

A music industry veteran hired as an expert witness by Jackson lawyers testified earlier that AEG Live's negotiations with Murray were "highly inappropriate."

The agreement to pay Murray $150,000 a month set up an "egregious" conflict of interest in which the physician was beholden to the company and himself before Jackson's interests, David Berman, who once headed Capitol Records and worked for decades as an entertainment lawyer, testified.

The contractual relationship between AEG Live and Murray was "not unlike the team doctor for a football team, where the quarterback is injured and the doctor comes to the medical conclusion that the quarterback should be taken out of the game for a period of weeks, but the team doesn't want him out," Berman said. "There is an inherent conflict."

Berman, called as an expert witness on music industry contracts, also noted that the contract said AEG Live could terminate Murray if concerts were postponed or canceled.

"The fact that if the tour is even just postponed that AEG Live has the ability to cease any further compensation for Dr. Murray, giving Dr. Murray even greater conflict of interest since he was in financial dire straits. He did need this gig and if it was postponed, which could hypothetically be in the best interest of Michael Jackson, he ran the risk of losing any further compensation," he testified.

Berman testified that AEG Live executives should have recognized there could be a problem with Murray when he initially asked for $5 million for one year as Jackson's doctor. "That is a pretty bizarre amount," he said.

The eventual agreement to pay the doctor $150,000 a month was still "an exorbitant amount, more than any other person on the tour was paid," he said. "Even more of a red flag since AEG was aware of another doctor who was willing to take the job for $40,000 a month."

Murray told investigators that he gave Jackson nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic propofol for two months to treat his insomnia. The coroner ruled Jackson died from a propofol overdose on June 25, 2009.

The wrongful death trial, in its 15th week, is expected to continue into September.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:03 pm

Michael Jackson's ex-wife up next in death trial

By: Alan Duke
August 12, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe is set to testify in the AEG Live wrongful death trial Wednesday, lawyers for the concert promoter said Monday.

Rowe is expected to be questioned about Jackson's drug use during the 1990s when she traveled with him, married him and bore his two oldest children.

She will be called as the next witness in the Los Angeles courtroom after an economics expert concludes his testimony about the financial support Jackson would have provided his mother and three children had he not died four years ago.

Jackson's youngest brother made an unsuccessful effort to reach the singer in his last weeks because of family concerns about his drug use, according to testimony Friday.

Lawyers for the concert promoter accused of liability in Jackson's death want to show that the pop icon was a secretive drug addict who was even beyond his family's help.

Jurors watched video of Randy Jackson's questioning by the AEG Live lawyers about failed interventions he led because of his concerns about Michael Jackson's use of painkillers in the last decade of his brother's life.

Jackson died from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol that a doctor told police he was using to treat his insomnia as he rehearsed for a comeback tour four years ago. Jackson's mother and three children are suing the concert promoter, contending it negligently hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death.

Randy Jackson testified that he and his father, Joe Jackson, were turned away from the gates of Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion on Carolwood Drive, the home in which he died weeks later. They were concerned because of "reports to me that he didn't look too good," he said.

"After I had heard this, I said, 'Come on, let's go. We're going over there,' " he testified.

Other witnesses, including Jackson's makeup artist and the show director, have testified that Jackson suffered physical deterioration in the last two months of his life.

"There was a drug issue," Randy Jackson said, explaining why they wanted to reach him. "He wasn't eating. All of these things were happening at the same and, you know, a lot of pressure."

He said he wanted to persuade his brother to leave rehearsals and enter a drug rehab program in San Francisco.

"Of course my brother wouldn't let me through because he wouldn't want me to see him like that," he said. The security guard told him his brother was not at home, he said.

Jackson lawyers do not dispute that Michael Jackson had a drug dependency problem at times, but they say he went long periods of time without taking painkillers. The entertainer publicly acknowledged his dependency when he cut short his Dangerous tour to enter a rehab program in 1993.

The drug use was connected to two decades of pain stemming from scalp burns suffered while filming a Pepsi commercial and several onstage accidents on tour, they say. He also used prescription sedatives to help him sleep, especially during the pressure of touring, they argue.

The pressure was on again as Jackson prepared for his "This Is It" concerts set to debut in London in July 2009, they say. Jackson was getting nightly infusions of propofol in a desperate effort to cure his insomnia, which a sleep expert testified disrupted his natural sleep cycles and caused his physical and mental decline.

AEG Live executives created an ethical conflict of interest by hiring Dr. Conrad Murray as Jackson's full-time physician for $150,000 a month, the Jackson lawsuit contends. Murray could not refuse Jackson's demands for propofol infusions since he was deeply in debt and could not risk being fired from the lucrative job, they argue.

AEG Live lawyers say it was Jackson who chose and controlled Murray, not the company, and they had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the singer in the privacy of his bedroom.

While Randy Jackson was questioned for several hours by AEG Live lawyers, only about an hour of the video was shown to jurors Friday. Most of it focused on his repeated attempts to interrupt his brother's use of painkillers.

"I wrote letters to my family about his problem and that we had to do something to help," Randy Jackson testified. The letters would tell his parents, brothers and sisters that 'he's an addict,' and at this point, addicts aren't so responsible for what they do. So this is where the family needs to step in and do something about it because their desire becomes physical."

Jackson testified that he "staged several interventions," including in Taiwan, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

"Four or five" of those attempted interventions were at Jackson's Neverland Ranch between 2004 and 2006 -- around the time of the child abuse trial in Santa Barbara County, California, he said.

MJ's 'pajama day' in court

Randy Jackson said he was able to get his brother off of drugs at one point, but he resumed just before the child molestation trial began in a Santa Maria, California, courtroom in 2004. "He was really scared."

He fired Jackson nanny Grace Rwaramba because he suspected she was supplying his drugs, he said. "Whenever she's around, he's wasted."

He asked older sister Rebbie Jackson to stay close to their brother, he said, telling her, "Make sure you watch everything he does, because I have to get him in this courtroom every day and see this thing through."

Randy Jackson gave new insight into what happened that infamous day of the trial when Michael Jackson showed up late for court wearing pajamas. At the time, the singer blamed a back injury suffered when he fell in the shower, which sent him to a hospital that morning.

Ex-bodyguard testifies about singer's drug use

His brother testified, however, it was "because he didn't want to go to court."

"I went to the hospital and he said to me, he says, 'I don't know what you're thinking. I'm not walking into that courtroom, so don't even think about it, Randy,' " he testified. "And I said, 'OK.' I said, 'But you're going to court.' He goes, 'No, I'm not.' "

Randy Jackson blamed the nanny for supplying "some kind of patch" that had drugs.

Jackson also described an incident in which his brother had a bad reaction to a sedative while at a Beverly Hills home in 2005. The nanny called him, saying, "You need to get over here. Something's not right," he testified. A doctor who lived nearby paid a house call and treated him, he said.

He said his brother would "kind of hide from me" because he didn't want him to know about his drug use, Jackson said.

Monday is the start of the 16th week of testimony in the trial, which the judge told jurors could last until the end of September.

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by WeAreTheWorld. Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:05 pm

Jury applauds witness in Michael Jackson death trial

By: Alan Duke
August 9, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Jurors hearing the Michael Jackson wrongful death case seem to be enjoying themselves after 15 weeks of testimony, even after the judge told them they could be in court through September.

They've leaned forward, taken close notes and often laughed while watching lawyers for Michael Jackson's mother and children spar with attorneys for concert promoter AEG Live.

"I'm not going to be babysitting you two," Judge Yvette Palazuelos told Jackson lawyer Brian Panish and AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putnam this week as the attorneys traded barbs in court.

Several jurors even applauded famed choreographer and director Kenny Ortega at the end of his lengthy testimony Thursday.

While some of the 65 days of testimony has covered tedious medical and legal ground, Jackson's music and intimate home videos are often shown on two big screens in the tiny Los Angeles courtroom

The jurors were getting an inside look Friday at how Jackson's family tried to intervene in the singer's prescription drug use as AEG Live's lawyers showed them video of their questioning of Randy Jackson, Michael Jackson's youngest brother.

The jury will eventually have a billion-dollar decision to make: Is AEG Live liable in Jackson's death and, if so, how much should the promoter-producer of his comeback tour pay the family in damages?

Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren -- Prince, Paris and Blanket -- contend AEG Live negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician now serving a prison term for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.

Murray told investigators he gave the entertainer nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat his insomnia so he could rest for rehearsals while preparing for his "This Is It" shows set to debut in London in July 2009. The coroner ruled Jackson's June 25, 2009, death was caused by an overdose of propofol.

AEG Live argues Jackson, not the company, chose and controlled Murray. A contract the company negotiated with Murray to work as Jackson's personal tour doctor for $150,000 a month was signed by Murray and returned to AEG Live on June 24, 2009. With Jackson's death the next day, no AEG Live executive ever signed it.

The company also argues its executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous and unusual treatments Murray was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom. AEG Live lawyers are using Randy Jackson's testimony about his family's attempts to intervene with the pop icon's use of painkillers to bolster their contention that he was a secretive drug addict.

Red flags missed?

The Jackson lawsuit accuses AEG Live executives of ignoring a series of red flags signaling that the artist was at risk in the weeks before his death -- including warnings from Kenny Ortega and others working on the production.

"He was like a lost boy," Ortega wrote in an e-mail to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips days before Jackson's death. "There still may be a chance he can rise to the occasion if we get him the help he needs."

After a poor rehearsal on June 13, 2009, and a missed rehearsal the next day, Ortega expressed his concern in an e-mail to AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware: "Were you aware that MJ's doctor didn't permit him to attend rehearsals yesterday? Are Randy and Frank (DiLeo, another Jackson manager) aware of this? Please have them stay on top of his health situation without invading MJ's privacy. It might be a good idea to talk with his doctor to make sure everything MJ requires is in place."

The AEG Live executives later told Ortega they met with Murray and put him in charge of getting Jackson to rehearsals, Ortega said. The director said he was told that if he needed to know whether Jackson was coming to a rehearsal, he should call the doctor. Ortega was given Murray's cell phone number, which he said he programmed into his own phone.

When Jackson finally showed up for a rehearsal on June 19, "he appeared lost, cold, afraid," Ortega said. It is a day he will never forget, he testified.

"I saw a Michael that frightened me, a Michael that was shivering and cold," Ortega testified. "I thought there was something emotional going on, deeply emotional, and something physical going on. He seemed fragile."

When AEG Live's lawyer asked Ortega if Jackson could've just had "a really bad flu," the show director said that was "not the best way of describing it."

A sleep expert hired by the Jacksons' lawyers testified earlier that he believed the singer was suffering from long-term sleep deprivation caused by two months of nightly propofol infusions. The drug interrupts crucial REM sleep cycles, depriving the brain of real rest and repair, the expert said.

Ortega persuaded Jackson not to go onstage that night because he was afraid he would hurt himself, he testified. Instead, Jackson agreed to watch the rehearsal with choreographer Travis Payne dancing his parts.

Jackson's ex-bodyguard testifies about singer's drug use

Jackson appeared paranoid and afraid, Ortega said. "He was repeating for me not to quit or to leave him. He was afraid that I was going to quit or leave him."

With just a dozen days left for rehearsals before the touring company moved to London for the opening, Ortega testified, he was worried "that all that we had worked for together, Michael and I -- this dream, this desire -- was going to fall away."

Ortega testified that on June 19, he "felt that we should stop" the production, but he was "torn because I did not want to break Michael's heart."

Ortega sent a series of e-mails that night and the next morning to AEG Live executives warning that they needed professional help for Jackson.

"There are strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior," Ortega wrote. "I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP. It's like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not waiting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state."

A contentious meeting

Ortega testified that he was called to a meeting with AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, Jackson and Murray at Jackson's home on June 20, hours after he sent those e-mails.

Murray angrily confronted him, Ortega testified. "He said I had no right to not let Michael rehearse, that Michael was physically and emotionally capable of handling all his responsibility as a performer and I should be a director and not an amateur doctor or psychologist. I should stick to my job and leave the rest to him."

Phillips watched Murray's attack on him in silence, Ortega testified Thursday.

Jackson died while under Murray's care five days later, in a bedroom just upstairs from the parlor where the meeting took place.

"A different Michael" showed up for the next rehearsals on June 23 and 24, Ortega testified. Jackson "seemed healthy and ready and happy. There didn't seem to be any leftover issues."

"I was feeling that we were back on track and grateful and believing that we were now in a new chapter," Ortega said.

Jackson lawyer Brian Panish asked Ortega what he thought caused the "metamorphosis" he witnessed in Jackson. "Maybe a lot of rest," he said. "He seemed rested, stronger."

"I assume sleep had to be a part of it," Ortega added. "He just looked rested. Deep sleep, real sleep."

Murray told investigators he stopped using propofol to induce Jackson's sleep for the two previous nights -- after 60 nights of it. Jackson lawyers contend that is why Jackson was revitalized.

Jackson lawyers argued that Murray was influenced by a conflict of interest -- created by his arrangement with AEG Live -- to continue dangerous propofol infusions to help Jackson rest for rehearsals. He was $1 million in debt and had abandoned his medical practice two months earlier to serve as Jackson's personal physician for the tour. If he failed to get Jackson to rehearsals, the shows might be postponed or canceled and he would be out of a job, they argue.

Blame game

Lawyers for both sides used Ortega's appearance in court to argue over who was responsible for Jackson's death -- the promoter or the artist.

"At the time, did you think Mr. Jackson was responsible for his own health?" AEG Live's Marvin Putnam asked.

"I didn't think he was being very responsible, but it was his responsibility, in my opinion," Ortega answered. "I wanted to take care of him, you always want to take care of someone if they're not feeling well, but you can't be responsible for them. They have to be responsible for themselves."

When Jackson lawyer Brian Panish had a chance to again question Ortega, he focused on AEG Live's responsibility in retaining Murray.

Panish: "You would expect a responsible concert promoter and producer to make sure anyone they hired to be checked out as fit and competent?"

Ortega: "Yes."

Panish: "Check them out to make sure they had no conflict?"

Ortega: "Yes."

Panish: "It would be irresponsible not to do that?"

Ortega: "Yes."

As Ortega stepped off the witness stand Thursday afternoon, several jurors applauded.

Debbie Rowe, the mother of Michael Jackson's two oldest children, may finally appear in court next week as a witness called by AEG Live. She was married to Jackson for several years and traveled with him on tour in the 1990s.

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by **Admin** Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:19 pm

The jury should have been admonished by the judge for this IMO. It is completely inappropriate to applaud as jurors!

by ijustcan'tstoplovinguMJ Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:57 pm

ITA admin!

by midangerous Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:29 pm

Defense expert: Promoter didn't pressure Michael Jackson's doctor

By Alan Duke, CNN
updated 11:23 AM EDT, Mon August 19, 2013

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The doctor convicted in Michael Jackson's death did not appeared to be pressured by AEG Live, an expert hired by the concert promoter testified Friday.

Dr. Gary Green returns to the witness stand Monday, the 72nd day of testimony in the Jackson wrongful death trial in Los Angeles.

Michael Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live is liable in the pop icon's death because it hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who is serving a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

The company argues that Jackson chose and controlled the doctor and that its executives had not way of knowing about the dangerous propofol infusions Murray was giving him in the privacy of Jackson's bedroom.

Jackson died from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic days before his comeback concert was to premiere, according to the Los Angeles County coroner.

Green, who reviewed the testimony and evidence presented in the previous 16 weeks of the trial, challenged the conclusions of Dr. Gordon Matheson, a medical ethics expert hired by Jackson lawyers.

"I disagree with Dr. Matheson completely," said Green, who serves as the team doctor for Pepperdine University athletics.

Matheson, the director of the sports medicine department at Stanford University, testified that AEG Live created a conflict of interest because the contract it negotiated with Murray to serve as Jackson's personal doctor for $150,000 a month "was likely to lead to poor medical decisions."

Matheson, who also is team doctor for Stanford's athletic department, compared it to a football coach telling a team doctor on the sidelines in the fourth quarter of a big game that a star quarterback has to go back in the game despite a suspected concussion.

Green challenged Matheson's comparison, saying the school chooses the team doctor, not the patient. Jackson chose Murray, he said.

Murray, who had closed his clinics to take the job and was $1 million in debt, would be inclined not to resist the AEG Live executives' pressure to get Jackson to rehearsals despite evidence of his failing health, Matheson testified.

Murray himself was conflicted because the negotiated contract was structured so that he answered to AEG, but it also could be canceled if the tour was canceled, he said. "I think that conflict played out as Michael Jackson's health began to deteriorate."

Green testified Friday that there was no conflict because it was in Murray's interest to keep Jackson healthy so his job could continue.

E-mails from the show director Kenny Ortega and production manager John "Bugzee" Hougdahl warned AEG executives of Jackson's deterioration during June 2009, including indications he was unable to do some of his trademark dances or remember lyrics to songs he had sung for decades.

His makeup artist and a choreographer testified about Jackson's paranoia, his talking to himself and hearing voices, and his severe weight loss.

Associate producer Alif Sankey testified that she "had a very strong feeling that Michael was dying" after a rehearsal 11 days before his death.

"I was screaming into the phone at that point," Sankey testified. "I said he needs to be put in the hospital now."

The defense expert discounted the significance of an e-mail written by AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware to Ortega that the Jackson lawyers argue is evidence the promoter pressured Murray in the days before Jackson's death.

Gongaware wrote: "We want to remind (Murray) that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him."

Green testified Friday that since he saw no evidence the message was ever communicated to Murray, he believed "it was not influencing."

The AEG Live expert also cited evidence that Murray resisted any interference from the promoters, telling them at one point to "stay in their lane" and leave Jackson's health to him. He also kept Jackson from rehearsals at one point, contrary to what the promoter wanted, Green said.

AEG Live's next witness will be human resources consultant Rhoma Young, who it hired to provide expert testimony concerning the Jacksons' contention that the company negligently hired Murray.

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by midangerous Wed Aug 28, 2013 7:34 pm

AEG expert: Michael Jackson was a drug addict

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A drug addiction expert who testified that Michael Jackson suffered a "quite extensive" drug addiction acknowledged there was no evidence the singer used more painkillers than medically necessary.

Dr. Petros Levounis testified Tuesday and Wednesday for AEG Live in its defense of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Jackson's mother and children.

Lawyers for the concert promoter want to convince jurors that the singer was a secretive addict responsible for his own death from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. Their executives had no way of knowing the singer was in danger when he was preparing for his comeback concerts in 2009, they contend.

Jackson lawyers contend AEG Live executives are liable because they negligently hired, retained or supervised the doctor who used propofol to treat Jackson's insomnia as he prepared for his comeback concerts during the last two months of his life.

The conclusion that Jackson was dependent on painkillers was not a revelation, considering Jackson himself announced it when he cut his "Dangerous" tour short to enter a rehab program in 1993.

"If he announced it to the world it's not very private, is it?" Jackson lawyer Michael Koskoff asked Levounis.

"At that moment, he was not secretive," Levounis replied.

Jackson's drugs of choice were opioids, painkillers given to him by doctors repairing scalp injuries suffered in a fire and during cosmetic procedures to make him look younger, Levounis testified.

Labeling Jackson an addict could tarnish the singer's image among jurors, but its relevance to AEG Live's liability is questionable. Opioids played no role in Jackson's death, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. His June 25, 2009, death was ruled a result of an overdose of propofol.

Dr. Conrad Murray told investigators he infused the singer with propofol for 60 consecutive nights to treat his insomnia so he could rest for rehearsals. The judge would not allow Levounis to testify if he thought Jackson was addicted to propofol.

Levounis said addiction happens when a chemical "hijacks the pleasure-reward pathways" in your brain. "You remain addicted for the rest of your life," Levounis testified.

"Michael Jackson's addiction was quite extensive and I have very little doubt that his pleasure-reward pathways had been hijacked and he suffered from addiction," he said.

Levounis conceded he saw no evidence that Jackson used painkillers after he left rehab in 1993 until 2001 or between July 2003 and late 2008.

He said it is not inconsistent for an addiction to go into remission.

Under cross examination Wednesday morning, Levounis conceded that he never saw evidence that Jackson injected himself with narcotics, ever sought or used illegal drugs such as cocaine, meth or heroin, or abused drugs to produce euphoria or get high.

There was also no evidence Jackson used more painkillers than doctors prescribed, he said.

Jackson lawyers have never disputed the singer's drug dependence. In fact, they contend that AEG Live executives, including one who was Jackson's tour manager when he entered rehab, were negligent for paying a doctor $150,000 a month just to treat Jackson. The high salary created a conflict for the debt-ridden Murray, making it difficult for him to say no to Jackson's demands for drugs.

Paul Gongaware, the AEG Live co-CEO who was in charge of Jackson's 2009 "This Is It" tour, was also tour manager for his "Dangerous" tour in 1993. Levounis acknowledged in testimony Wednesday that there was evidence that Gongaware knew about Jackson's painkiller addiction 15 years before his death.

Levounis' testimony about the dangers of a doctor being too friendly with an addicted patient, which he said Murray was, could help the Jacksons' case.

"A very close friendship between an addicted patient and a doctor is problematic," Levounis testified. "It makes it much easier for a patient to ask for drugs and it makes it more difficult for a provider to resist."

The medical records of Murray's treatment of Jackson between 2006 and 2008 -- when the singer lived in Las Vegas -- showed no painkillers prescribed during seven visits. Murray's notes did show he treated Jackson's complaints of insomnia with a sedative in 2008.

Wednesday was the 76th day of testimony in the trial, which is expected to conclude near the end of September.

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personal note: Screw u Doc!!

by midangerous Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:31 pm

Michael Jackson death trial takes odd twist

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The co-author of a study on propofol addiction funded by AEG Live and used in their defense in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial lost his medical license for writing illegal drug prescriptions, according to testimony.

Dr. Torin Finver was hired to help with the AEG Live study after he lost his job at a pizza parlor and took a job driving a Goodwill truck, said Dr. Paul Earley, who testified Wednesday as an expert witness for the concert promoter.

Finver was "destitute, dead broke, and I wanted to help him," Earley, himself a recovering heroin addict, testified.

The revelation was a bizarre twist in the trial of the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by Jackson's mother and three children, which is being heard by a Los Angeles jury. The four-month-long trial is nearing a conclusion.

AEG Live lawyers will announce if they have any more witnesses to call before playing the video depositions of three more doctors on Friday. Jackson lawyers would then take several days to call rebuttal witnesses before closing arguments are heard, which is likely to happened around September 23.

Earley testified that he never disclosed to AEG Live lawyers that his co-author had lost his medical license. Ironically, the company is being accused of the negligent hiring of Dr. Conrad Murray, convicted in Jackson's death because it allegedly failed to check Murray's background before hiring him.

Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle also grilled Earley over his nondisclosure that he was working as a paid consultant in AEG Live's defense when he submitted the study for publication in a medical journal.

He said the concert promoter did not try to influence his findings, which were published in March in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Jackson lawyers are hoping the controversy over Earley's work for AEG Live will distract jurors from his conclusion that Michael Jackson was a drug addict with a "grave prognosis" that would have shortened his life had he not died of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol on June 25, 2009.

Each dose of an anesthetic his doctor gave him to help him sleep was like playing "Russian roulette," Earley said.

Murray told investigators he gave Jackson infusions of propofol for 60 nights to treat his insomnia as the entertainer prepared for his comeback concerts.

Lawyers for the concert promoter hired Earley in their effort to downplay damages the company might have to pay if found liable in the pop icon's death. How much longer Jackson might have lived -- and earned money touring -- will be important if the jury decides AEG Live is liable for damages in Jackson's death. Jackson lawyers contend he would have earned more than $1.5 billion touring the world over the next several years.

Katherine Jackson and her three grandchildren sued Michael Jackson's last concert promoter, contending the company is liable in his death because it hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

AEG Live lawyers contend it was Jackson, not the promoter, who chose and controlled Murray, and say AEG executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom.

Despite writing a blog six weeks after Jackson's death titled "Michael Jackson: Addiction in the Privileged," Earley testified Tuesday that there "was insufficient evidence that he was addicted to propofol."

"He was given propofol initially for appropriate medical procedures, but at some point, he began seeking out physicians who would administer propofol to him," Earley testified.

The last two instances of "doctor shopping" for propofol were late March and April of 2009, when Jackson asked an anesthesiologist to go on tour with him and then asked a nurse to help him find an anesthesiologist, he said.

Earley said there was no evidence Jackson's search for a doctor to give him propofol continued after AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware sent an e-mail to the singer's assistant on May 6, 2009, telling him Murray had agreed to take the job as his personal physician for the "This Is It" tour. "Done at $150k a month," Gongaware wrote.

"Sounds like he got it," Earley testified.

The Jackson family's lawyers contend that AEG Live executives ignored warning signs that Jackson's health began deteriorating after Murray began attending to him on a daily basis. Show workers sent e-mails describing a paranoid and frail Jackson who couldn't perform his standard dances or remember words to songs he had sung for decades.

A Harvard Medical School sleep expert, testifying in June for the Jacksons, concluded that the 60 nights of propofol infusions apparently robbed Jackson of rapid eye movement sleep, which is vital to keep the brain and body alive.

"The symptoms that Mr. Jackson was exhibiting were consistent with what someone might expect to see of someone suffering from total sleep deprivation over a chronic period," Dr. Charles Czeisler testified.

Expert's conflict?

Soon after AEG Live's lawyers hired Earley as a consultant on propofol addiction in 2011, they agreed to fund his scientific research, which resulted in his paper titled "Addiction to Propofol: A Study of 22 Treatment Cases." The American Society of Addiction Medicine published the study in March.

Earley insisted in his testimony that AEG Live's funding did not influence the conclusions of his study or his testimony in the trial. But the Jackson lawyer hammered the doctor about the lack of disclosure to the scientific journal and his collaborator that he was being paid to be an expert witness in the trial.

He informed them that he was doing research for the company, but the trial aspect was "irrelevant," Earley said.

"It's irrelevant to health care professionals," he said. "It wouldn't affect their understanding of the paper."

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by midangerous Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:29 pm

Michael Jackson's pain was real, doctor testifies

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Before Michael Jackson asked a doctor to treat his insomnia with propofol, he tried falling asleep to the physician reading him bedtime stories.

The pop star's desperate decades-long search for sleep ultimately led to his death when he overdosed on the surgical anesthetic on June 25, 2009.

The trial to decide if Jackson's last concert promoter is liable for his death is nearing an end after more than four months of testimony.

Dr. Barney Van Valin, whose video testimony was shown to jurors Friday, refused Jackson's request for propofol infusions in 2003, but six years later -- in Dr. Van Valin's words -- another physician "put him to sleep like a dog."

Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live is liable for his death because the company hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson's propofol overdose. Murray told investigators he gave Jackson nightly infusions of the drug to treat his insomnia the last two months of his life.

AEG Live lawyers argue Jackson, not their executives, chose and controlled Murray and that the company had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments in the privacy of the singer's bedroom.

The producers ignored warning signs that Jackson's health was deteriorating, and instead of finding another doctor to intervene, they kept Murray and made him responsible for getting Jackson to rehearsals for his comeback concerts, the Jacksons contend.

MJ and doctor were "best friends"

Dr. Van Valin's practice is near the Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County, California, where Jackson lived until his acquittal in a child molestation trial in 2005.

"We were best friends, you know," Dr. Van Valin testified. "I didn't have a better friend and I don't think he did."

Jackson "would just show up" at Van Valin's home every week or so without warning, he said. The doctor would open his door to leave for work in the morning "and he would just be standing there."

His driver told him once that Jackson had been waiting at his door for 35 minutes, not wanting to knock because he thought that was impolite.

Van Valin's children would stay home from school some days Jackson visited.

"I'd come home from work and there's Michael there at the house and they're watching cartoons or, you know, eating pizza," Van Valin said. At first it was a novelty, but after several years it was routine, he said.

The doctor was asked under cross examination if Michael Jackson a good father.

"No, he is an amazing father," he answered. "Because I'm a good father and he was better than me. He respected them and as they respected him and he would correct them gently."

Doctor: Jackson didn't fake pain to get drugs

AEG Live's defense includes the contention that Jackson cultivated friendships with doctors to gain access to drugs to feed a secretive addiction. But Van Valin denied Jackson ever used their friendship to get prescriptions to medication that were not clinically indicated.

Although he was compelled to testify as a witness for AEG Live, Van Valin's testimony boosted the Jackson case by showing that Jackson's use of painkillers was medically justified by chronic pain suffered in a 1997 stage accident, Jackson lawyers said.

The doctor said Jackson showed the "classic symptoms of lower back pain" and an MRI study confirmed a bulge in a disc in his lower spine consistent with where his pain was.

Dr. Van Valin said he never suspected Jackson was faking his pain to get painkiller shots.

"I looked for that because there are plenty of people that come in and try to scam me, so I'm always looking for that," he testified.

While the doctor said "nothing implied" that Jackson was abusing painkillers, there was one incident during house call in 2002 that caused him to suspect Jackson might be getting additional shots of the powerful opioid Demerol from another doctor. He noticed "a little blood spot" on Jackson's T-shirt after he gave him a shot, he said.

"I lifted it up and there's a little Band-Aid over it and I said, 'Michael,' I said, 'you have another doctor that gave you a shot.' I said, 'You realize what risk you put yourself and me at by doing that? Who came and gave you a shot?' 'Oh, no, I didn't -- it was not a shot.'" Van Valin said. "But it was. He was lying."

AEG Live contends Jackson kept doctors in the dark about other doctors' treatments. The argument is important to their contention that his dangerous drug use would have shortened his life even if he had not died in 2009. The shorter his life expectancy, the less money they might be ordered to pay in damages if found liable in his death.

"I told him, I said, 'You know what, I can't do this, okay, 'cause if you're doubling up, you know, I give you a shot and then you've already had one,' I said, 'I could kill you,'" Van Valin testified.

Van Valin remained close friends with Jackson even though he stopped treating him soon after that incident, he said.

Bedtime stories versus Diprivan

The doctor's testimony revealed more about Jackson's relationship with the drug that killed him -- the surgical anesthetic propofol, also known as Diprivan. AEG Live lawyers contend it was a drug Jackson knew a lot about, but that their executives had no knowledge of.

Debbie Rowe, Jackson's former wife, testified earlier that German doctors infused the singer with it in a Munich hotel on two nights to help him sleep between "HIStory" tour shows in 1997. Jackson lawyers pointed out that Paul Gongaware, who is now the AEG Live co-CEO, was Jackson's tour manager then.

Five years later, Jackson asked Van Valin to help him go to sleep.

"Sometimes, he'd say, 'Barney, do me a favor, see if I can sleep, I'm going to get under the covers on that rollout couch,' and he said, 'Just read me out of a book,'" Van Valin testified. "I'd find a book that looked interesting and I'd just start reading or I'd tell him stories. That didn't work because often times he got excited about the story and say, 'That really happened?' or something. Anyway, I'd read to him -- and when it seemed like he was asleep I'd slip out, you know, kind of hard because the door made a little noise. If I thought he was asleep I'd leave, and once in awhile he'd say, 'Good night, Barney,' and when I got to the door, he wasn't asleep at all."

Dr. Van Valin also tried to help Jackson sleep with sedatives, including Xanax, without success, he said.

Jackson, however, revealed to him in 2003 that he had a stash of propofol in a closet of his Neverland Ranch bedroom, Van Valin said.

"He said, 'Would you put me to sleep, I haven't been able to sleep for four days,' and I said, 'With what?' And he goes, 'Well, I have this stuff,' and I said, 'Mike, I don't do I.V. sedation. You need an anesthesiologist to do that.' And he said, 'Oh, it's safe, man, I used it for all those years between shows and I got put to sleep.' I said, 'I can't imagine that was good sleep." You know, he said, "No, it works really well."

He said Jackson told him that during his world tours him a doctor "would put in the I.V. and put me to sleep, and he'd stay there for eight hours and wake me up 'cause I would go -- if I had three days between shows, I would have three days I didn't sleep and, you know, that I couldn't put on the show I wanted to have, you know, I mean, I want my shows to be, you know, as high end as possible."

"Sounds like a doctor who did his job, not like this other guy, who just started the drip and left the room and basically put him to sleep like a dog," Van Valin said.

Jackson was "pretty complacent" when he rejected his request for help with propofol and he never asked for it again, Van Valin said.

Dr. Conrad Murray told CNN's Anderson Cooper in April that Jackson had "his own stash" of propofol in his home before he began treating him with it in 2009.

"I did not agree with Michael, but Michael felt that it was not an issue because he had been exposed to it for years and he knew exactly how things worked," Murray said. "And given the situation at the time, it was my approach to try to get him off of it, but Michael Jackson was not the kind of person you can just say 'Put it down' and he's going to do that."

Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live was negligent for not checking out Murray's distressed financial situation before agreeing to pay him $150,000 a month. It created a conflict of interest that led Murray to ignore safe practices and his responsibility to Jackson's health, they contend.

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by **Admin** Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:43 pm

This doc V.V. is full of it! He is known to ask females online on MJ forums to tell him their real names and personal emails and phone numbers. Creeper! Who REALLY believes this dude read bedtime stories to Michael? Seriously!! That is just ludicrous! He wouldn't even let Liz Taylor in his bedroom or near where he rested and slept. AS IF this stranger was able to be that involved with MJ!

Read the tweets from his testimony. He sounds like a nut. He acts like a nut. So what's that tell ya?

This guy is a fame seeker and fake imo!

by midangerous Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:08 pm

He would actually ask female fans their real name and email???? WTH! Doc Pervert!

by WeAreTheWorld. Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:42 pm

I remember hearing this too admin. What a sicko!

by midangerous Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:02 pm

AEG Live backs down on calling Michael Jackson's mom

Los Angeles (CNN) -- AEG Live lawyers changed their mind about calling Katherine Jackson as their last witness in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial.

Instead, lawyers for the concert promoter may play a portion of Prince Jackson's video deposition before resting its defense case Wednesday.

The five-month-long trial in Los Angeles is nearing an end, an closing arguments could be delivered on Monday. Testimony, which has been on hold for more than a week because of an illness in one juror's family, resumes Wednesday.

Jackson's mother and three children are suing AEG Live, contending that the concert promoter was liable for the pop icon's death because it hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

AEG Live argues that Jackson chose and controlled Dr. Conrad Murray and that its executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments he was giving the star in his bedroom.

Jackson died of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol, which Murray told investigators he used to treat the singer's insomnia so he could rest for comeback concert rehearsals in the summer of 2009.

AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putnam announced in court last week that he intended to call Michael Jackson's elderly mother to question her "about the absurdity of the damages" she wants the jury to award if they decide the company is liable. Putnam informed the court and Jackson's lawyers Monday that he had decided not to call her again.

A Jackson lawyer argued that AEG Live's "intent is to show the lawsuit's purpose is greed," while the judge suggested that any mother could be expected to say "there is no amount of money that would substitute for the loss of her son."

Putnam has frequently cited in interviews a "statement of damages" letter sent to him by a Jackson lawyer last year capping possible damages at $40 billion, but the judge ruled that he could not refer to it in court because it was not a sworn filing in the case.

Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle pointed out that the lawsuit complaint only says that damages would be "according to proof at trial," based on testimony by several expert witnesses who have testified.

Jackson expert Arthur Erk -- a certified public accountant who has managed and audited the business affairs of many top artists -- testified that he was "reasonably certain" that Jackson would have earned at least $1.5 billion from touring, endorsements and sponsorships had he not died from a propofol overdose preparing for his "This Is It" tour.

"It is very difficult to assess the value of the King of Pop," Jackson lawyer Deborah Chang told the judge Wednesday. "How do you even do that?"

The non-economic damages suffered because of Michael Jackson's death could be enormous considering "what happened to Paris Jackson," she said. Jackson's 15-year-old daughter attempted suicide in June and remains in a treatment program.

Jackson lawyers seemed to welcome the prospect of AEG Live calling their client as their final witness, considering how jurors reacted when she was on the stand in July. Jurors leaned forward and paid close attention during her two days of testimony as the last witness in their case.

"Why are you here?" Jackson lawyer Brian Panish asked her.

"Because I want to know what really happened to my son," she said. "And that's why I am here."

Panish asked Jackson how it made her feel to be asked probing and personal questions about her family by AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putnam.

"It makes me feel real bad, because my son was a very good person," she said. "He loved everybody. He gave to charity. He was in the Guinness Book of World Records for giving to charity."

If jurors decide that AEG Live is liable in Jackson's death, they could award damages based on the loss of the mother's and children's relationship with him and the amount of money he was unable to earn because his life was cut short.

After AEG Live rests its case -- which lawyers indicated would happen Wednesday -- the Jackson lawyers would have a chance to call several rebuttal witnesses.

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by midangerous Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:35 pm

Michael Jackson death trial nears end after five months

Los Angeles (CNN) -- AEG Live lawyers rested their defense case in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial, setting the scene for closing arguments to be delivered in a Los Angeles courtroom starting Monday.

"We're in the 9th inning," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos told jurors Wednesday afternoon, the 81st day of testimony in the trial to decide if Jackson's last concert promoter is liable in the singer's death.

Katherine Jackson and grandchildren Prince, Paris and Blanket contend AEG Live executives negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Murray, who is set to be freed from jail next month, did not testify in the five-month-long trial because he indicated he would invoke his constitutional right to refuse to answer questions while his appeal is pending for his criminal conviction.

While the trial has been held in a small courtroom with seating limited to just 60 by the fire marshal, the judge decided Wednesday that the three days of closing arguments will be delivered in a larger courtroom that can seat hundreds.

Lawyers for Jackson's mother and three children will call two more witnesses before resting their rebuttal case Thursday. Dr. Allan Metzger, who treated Jackson for nearly three decades, is set to take the stand Thursday morning.

AEG Live lawyers played video of Metzger's deposition testimony as their last witness Wednesday, but Jackson lawyers say they want to ask him questions not covered when the deposition was recorded last year.

Metzger said in his deposition that Jackson would "doctor shop" and that he kept details of treatments by other physicians a secret. "Michael would never tell me what he was doing," he said.

AEG Live lawyers contend Jackson's secrecy about his drug use made it impossible for its executives to know that Dr. Murray posed a danger to the singer as he prepared for his comeback concerts.

Murray told investigators that he gave Jackson infusions of the surgical anesthetic propofol almost every night for the last two months of his life to treat his insomnia. The coroner ruled Jackson's June 25, 2009, death was caused by a propofol overdose.

"Michael would seek out avenues of sleep helpers and that's another aspect of his secrecy," Metzger testified. "I never did know what he did when he wasn't in L.A."

Jackson was "secretive about medicine, secretive about procedures, secretive about all kinds of stuff, which was part of his mystique," he said.

Metzger described a phone call from Jackson on February 26, 2009, four months before his death. It was a month after he signed a contract with AEG Live to do his "This Is It" comeback tour that would debut in London in July.

"It was more of an anxiety call, about his health and how he was going to deal with all the 30 or 50 shows," Metzger said. "I don't think at that time he knew how many shows it would be."

Jackson was "fearful because this is it and he needed to do a lot of perfectionizing," Metzger said. "He wanted it to be something that had never been done before and it had to be great, so he had a lot of pressure from himself."

Jackson "wanted to redeem Michael Jackson" and "go out with a flash," he said. The pop icon was "still terribly hurt" about the child molestation trial that ended in his acquittal four years earlier, he said.

"He was one of the most recognized names in the world and he wanted it to stay that way," Metzger testified.

Jackson's biggest worry was "that he was going to have a hell of a time sleeping and what are we going to do." He had a long history of not being able to sleep between shows on a tour, he said.

Metzger visited Jackson at his Los Angeles home on April 18, 2009 -- two months before his death -- to discuss "his profound sleep disorder," the doctor said.

The doctor said he suggested they find a sleep expert in London, where his first 50 shows were scheduled, who would use "safe modalities for sleep." Metzger conferred with other doctors in Los Angeles, hoping for recommendations to help Jackson.

"I batted zero," he testified. "Nobody had any specific people for me to call."

Jackson told Metzger he wanted someone to give him intravenous medicine that would put him to sleep. "I can't sleep without something special," he told him. Propofol is infused intravenously.

"I told him it was dangerous and potentially life threatening," Metzger said. He warned Jackson that it should only be used in a hospital because he could overdose, have an allergic reaction in a hotel, be given a wrong medication or develop an infection.

"It just isn't the right thing to do," he said he told Jackson.

A nurse who tried to help Jackson find sleep with vitamin infusions testified last month that Jackson became convinced that propofol was the only cure for his insomnia. Cherilyn Lee said Jackson asked her on April 19, 2009 -- a day after his meeting with Metzger -- to find an anesthesiologist who could put him to sleep him with propofol.

Lee, like Metzger, refused the request, warning him it was unsafe. She testified that she told Jackson that any doctor who would give him propofol at home didn't care about him and was just doing it for the money.

Jackson lawyers contend it was around the same time that Dr. Murray agreed to take to job. Just over two weeks later -- on May 6 -- an AEG Live executive wrote in an e-mail saying that it was a "done deal" that Murray was being hired for $150,000 a month to serve as Jackson's full-time physician.

Jackson lawyers began their rebuttal case Wednesday afternoon by calling Los Angeles Police Detective Scott Smith, who testified that he concluded Murray's motive in Jackson's homicide was the $150,000 monthly salary he was to get from AEG Live.

"Information was obtained that revealed that Dr. Murray financially was in ruins, was losing his house in Las Vegas, had a lien against his pool, was arrears in child support for multiple children to multiple women," Smith said. "Financially, he was just a mess."

Jackson lawyers argue that AEG Live executives created a conflict of interest with the structure of their agreement with Murray, which provided that he could be fired if the concerts were delayed or canceled. He was too dependent upon the pay to refuse to administer the risky propofol infusions which Jackson was convinced he needed to prepare for the tour, they argue.

The key reason Jackson lawyers called Smith was to refute a statement made by Kathy Jorrie, the lawyer who helped negotiate and write the contract between AEG Live and Murray.

Smith, who interviewed Jorrie during his investigation of Murray, wrote in his report that she told him that the London concerts were "only the beginning, that Michael Jackson was going to do a world tour that was to last two to three years."

Jorrie testified last month that she never told police there was a planned world tour.

"If Detective Smith were to come in here and say you made that statement he would be lying?" Jackson lawyer Brian Panish asked Jorrie.

"He would be mistaken," Jorrie replied.

In court Wednesday, Smith testified that "she did state that there was going to be a world tour that would last two to three years." He said it was reflected in his handwritten notes, as well as the typewritten summary of his interview with the lawyer for AEG Live.

Evidence that AEG Live and Jackson intended to take his tour around the world is important if the jury decides the company should pay damages in the singer's death. An entertainment expert hired by the Jacksons estimated he would have earned $1.6 billion if he had not died -- mostly from that world tour. It represents lost income that jurors could order AEG Live to pay the family in damages.

Jackson lawyers said they may show jurors previously unseen raw video of Jackson's last rehearsals after they call Dr. Metzger to the witness stand Thursday. They said they expect to rest their case at the end of the day.

Judge Palazuelos will read several hours of jury instructions on Friday, guidance intended to help jurors find their way through a complicated case that could take weeks to deliberate.

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by midangerous Mon Sep 23, 2013 4:31 pm

Michael Jackson's mother has standing to collect damages, judge rules

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial have one less question to decide after the judge issued a partial directed verdict in favor of Jackson's mother Friday.

Katherine Jackson has standing to seek damages against concert promoter AEG Live in the pop icon's death because evidence proved her son provided for "everything," including her household expenses and food, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos said in a ruling Friday afternoon.

Lawyers for AEG Live unsuccessfully argued that Jackson's elderly mother could not sue because she was also supported by daughter Janet Jackson.

Testimony ended Friday in the five-month-long trial, setting the stage for closing arguments to begin Tuesday. Judge Palazuelos will read her instructions to the jury on Monday.

Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live is liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011 and sentenced to four years in prison.

Murray told police he infused Jackson with the surgical anesthetic propofol for 60 nights to treat his insomnia as he prepared for his comeback concerts. The coroner ruled his death on June 25, 2009, was from a propofol overdose.

AEG Live lawyers have argued it was Jackson who chose and controlled Murray and that their executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom.

The judge cited testimony from Katherine Jackson and a financial expert hired by AEG Live in her partial directed verdict ruling.

The defense expert concluded that the Michael Jackson paid for the "bulk" of his mother's support, including for her home, transportation, food and insurance, the ruling said.

The only evidence AEG Live had supporting their defense was Katherine Jackson's testimony that her youngest daughter, Janet Jackson, gave her $10,000 a month for "some period of years," the judge wrote.

"There is no evidence that Janet Jackson's contributions negated Katherine Jackson's reliance -- to some extent -- on [Michael Jackson's] contributions for the necessaries of life," Palazuelos ruled.

California law does not allow parents to seek wrongful-death damages if their offspring had other heirs, unless they can prove they were financially dependent on their child.

The judge is moving the trial to a much larger courtroom in the downtown Los Angeles courthouse, which will allow more than 300 people to watch closing arguments. The trial began in a courtroom that only seats 60 people.

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