Will Michael Jackson Rehearsal Footage Prove or Disprove Conrad Murray Defense Theory?

Video of Michael Jackson's last two rehearsals for his 2009 "This Is It" tour could be played in court during Dr. Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial.
The L.A. County District Attorney filed a motion today asking the judge to allow the rehearsal footage from June 23-24 to be entered as evidence.
The D.A. believes the footage supports the testimony from "This Is It" director Kenny Ortega that Michael was "happy and excited for the future."

Michael Jackson Tour Rehearsal

It also opposes the defense's theory that after the last rehearsal, MJ became desperate and "took desperate measures that caused his own death."
The D.A. also filed a motion to allow limited photos from MJ's autopsy, claiming the pictures are not gory or gruesome and won't prejudice a jury.

D.A. in Dr. Conrad Murray Case: Back Off MJ!

The L.A. County District Attorney wants the judge in the Michael Jackson case to ensure that irrelevant character attacks on the late music icon are inadmissible.
As we know, Dr. Conrad Murray's defense team is throwing everything it can against the wall in hopes that something sticks that will create reasonable doubt.
It's a fine line. His theory that Michael Jackson killed himself with a lethal dose of Propofol is at least rooted in events that may have happened June 25, 2009.
Making Jackson look like an out-of-control whack job, however?

The D.A. wants non-pertinent assertions and accounts of Michael's behavior left out of the case. Specifically, evidence involving Michael and the Nation of Islam.
D.A. Steve Cooley says: "Evidence concerning the Nation of Islam is irrelevant [and] does not relate to the defendant's participation in Michael Jackson's death."
Cooley's move is a preemptive strike to keep the defense from trying to make Michael Jackson look like a weirdo and an unsympathetic character in general.
Connecting MJ to the N.O.I. would make him very unsympathetic with a jury, not to mention the can of worms it would open regarding his eccentric life.
Cooley also wants to prevent the defense attacking MJ's bodyguard Alberto Alvarez who claims he was ordered by Dr. Murray to hide evidence of Propofol.
Alvarez was convicted of a misdemeanor 11 years ago - irrelevant, the D.A. says.
Of course, there are plenty of character questions to be raised about Murray, only they may actually pertain to the case (see testimony by Michelle Bella).

Dr. Conrad Murray: Play On, Player!

If you've followed the Michael Jackson case and noted that Dr. Conrad Murray had dealings with several different women the day MJ died, that's not an error.

Dr. Murray crossed a professional line in treating Michael based on his involvement with three women, according to new documents filed by prosecutors.

According to the documents, Dr. Murray was on the phone with a cocktail waitress prosecutors say was his girlfriend minutes before the 911 call was made.

Prosecutors say this woman in question, Sade Anding, was in Houston where she met Murray while working as a cocktail waitress. Why was he calling her?

Who the heck knows, but officials say the call proves Murray was paying attention to his girlfriend, and not MJ, during the critical period before MJ's death.

Moreover, prosecutors want to admit into evidence a $500 check that Dr. Murray wrote to Sade Anding "after the two came back from a social outing."

Murray allegedly had communications with two other women that day, too:

• Michelle Bella, a stripper at Spearmint Rhino Gentleman's Club in Vegas, got a text from Murray at 8:30 a.m. on June 25, 2009. Prosecutors want the jury to see a receipt for $1,100 from the Rhino the day he met Bella.
• Bridgette Morgan also called Murray on June 25 to ask about a plane ticket he said he was purchasing for her so she could fly out to see him.

Well then. It looks like the good doctor was up to some shady stuff aside from the whole injecting Michael with Propofol and leaving the room thing.

Who would have guessed Conrad was such a player? Even more amazing? He was dating another woman, Nicole Alvarez, during all of this!

Jury Questionnaire in Michael Jackson Manslaughter Case: Anybody Use Propofol?

Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers and the prosecutors in the upcoming Michael Jackson manslaughter trial want to know all sorts of things about potential jurors.
A 30-page long questionnaire with 117 questions asks everything from whether individuals read celebrity gossip blogs to whether they're insomniacs.
Some of the many highlights of the exhaustive list include:

• What Internet sites or celebrity blogs if any, do you visit on a regular basis?
• Have you posted any blogs concerning Michael Jackson or Conrad Murray?
• Have you or anyone close to you ever worked in any aspect of the media?

Then there are these six questions in which prospective jurors must select either Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree or No Opinion ...

1. Celebrities and high-profile people feel like they are entitled to act however they please
2. Celebrities and high-profile people think they can bend the rules
3. Celebrities and high-profile people abuse their power and status to intimidate other into giving them what they want
4. Celebrities and high-profile people in Los Angeles get away with crimes because of their status
5. Celebrities and high-profile people in Los Angeles are treated the same way by the police as anyone else
6. Police are more lenient with celebrities and high-profile people

Then there's the medical portion, critical to the prosecution and the defense of Murray, who will likely claim that Michael Jackson killed himself:

• Have you or anyone close to you ever had a job that required a professional license?
• Was that license ever suspended, revoked, restricted, or the subject of investigation or inquiry.
• Do you have any familiarity with the following medications? (several drugs are listed, many of them drugs MJ took, including Propofol)
• Do you know anyone who is or has been addicted to prescription medication?
• Are you or someone close to you currently taking medication for pain, anxiety, depression or insomnia?

Reports say Murray is seeking responsible jurors who take responsibility for their own actions, in hopes he will not be found liable for MJ's death.
That's all tall order, considering he was treating him with a drug he most likely should not have used, but was MJ a lost cause, as Murray claims?
Did he push the limit so far no one can be blamed but himself?
That's what he'll be asking the jury. The trial is set for May 9.

Dr. Conrad Murray on Michael Jackson Kids: "That's My Children"

The feeling may not be reciprocal here, but that's nice at least.
While out at The Grove in Los Angeles yesterday, a photographer caught up with Dr. Conrad Murray, who is awaiting involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson, and asked about the late King of Pop's offspring.
His response: "That's my children, I love them. I love them."

Dr. Conrad Murray: Man on the Street

And this concludes your Dr. Conrad Murray update this week. It's been fun. We'll see if jurors show him similar love when his trial kicks off in late April.