After four months, Michael Jackson wrongful death case nears end
After more than four months of testimony, the Michael Jackson wrongful death case could finally go to the jury later this month.
Court clerk Neli Raya said she expects the case willl be handed to the jury in about 2 1/2 weeks.
Marvin Putnam, attorney for AEG Live, has said he expects to rest his case next Friday at the latest. Then each side could call rebuttal witnesses, and attorneys could argue over the instructions the judge will give the 12 jurors who have sat through the marathon.
While jurors have heard from financial experts, AEG executives, doctors and Jackson family members, none of the celebrities on the attorneys witness lists — Prince, Spike Lee, Quincy Jones and Diana Ross among them — have been called to testify.
The case revolves around the question of who controlled Dr. Conrad Murray, the cardiologist who administered the fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to Jackson at the singer’s rented Holmby Hills home on June 25, 2009.
Jackson was preparing for a 50-concert comeback in London that was being promoted and produced by AEG. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and is serving a jail sentence.
The Jacksons say that AEG negligently hired and supervised Murray, while AEG says the singer hired him and that any money the entertainment firm was supposed to pay him was an advance.
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