Updated: Murray's lawyer wants jury sequestred
Updated: 2011-08-19 16:47
A lawyer for Murray said in a hearing set for Wednesday that in order to prevent than Nancy Grace reflects the recent Anthony case on the jury, jurors in the Murray's upcoming manslaughter trial should be sequestered round-the-clock, or at least “during the hours Nancy Grace is on TV.”
The attorney for Murray told a judge he was concerned that biased commentary of the televised proceedings, set to begin Sept. 8, would affect the panel’s ability to render a fair verdict and argued that it was not practical to tell jurors they can't watch TV, because they will.
“I just think there is an overwhelming likelihood of contamination of the court’s control of evidence,” J. Michael Flanagan told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor.
Flanagan then explained the difference between the two trials outside court: “Casey Anthony was not a public figure before her case,” he said, noting that Jackson’s superstar status means TV stations have enormous amounts of footage of him to use during the trial; things that will not be admitted in evidence.
The judge said the defense was free to file a formal motion for sequestration, but that he felt it was unnecessary and too expensive.
Pastor, who observed that the O.J. Simpson case was the last time a county judge had sequestered a jury, said he would order jurors be kept away from the general public inside the courthouse but believed it “unhealthy” for panelists to be isolated for the entire trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
Pastor also announced that jury selection will begin September 8, despite prosecutors' request for another three weeks to prepare their case because of scheduling issues.
Besides, Pastor said he would travel to Sony Pictures studios in Culver City to evaluate more than a dozen hours of footage of Jackson’s This Is It rehearsals and decide if and which clips will be shown to the jury.
The judge also added he expected to be able to review the footage by this weekend and another hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday 25.
Flanagan pressed his claim for out-takes from the This Is It rehearsals and wants the out-takes to show there were periods where Michael Jackson appeared to be on drugs.
In a telling comment, Judge Pastor said, "This case is going to focus on the charge, not personal lifestyle."
Michael Jackson had an addiction problem from painkillers due to the Pepsi incident in which suffered serious burns that caused him severe pains. In 1993, following Elizabeth Taylor's advice, he went to rehab and since then he never more abused of painkillers.
Infact, in the autopsy report, the coroner states that there is no sign of drug abuse and that Michael Jackson was in good health, defined thin but with a right weight for his height and no desease that could be a threat for his life.
However, Flanagan, apart from saying: "the video showed me that Jackson was very talented", he as well added: "he's pretty good; even on his bad days, he's good."
The defense was looking for clues in the video to show that Jackson was in ill health in the days before June 25, but Flanagan said it was not detectable in his performance video. "Jackson also did not appear to be depressed," he said.
The defense will argue that none of the This Is It video is relevant to the criminal trial and would be "a big waste of time."
"It shows him onstage performing," Flanagan said. "I don't know why that's relevant as to what happened the night that he died when he couldn't sleep."
The prosecution had identified 12 hours of out-takes from the documentary movie This Is It as relevant evidence. The defense claims only four hours should be shown to jurors.
The trial is expected to start on September 20.
Update: On August 17, Murray's lawyers filed their motion to require the sequestration of the jury and a hearing is scheduled on August 25, 2011.
The new trial date is set for September 26.