Jury selection starts in trial of Michael Jackson's doctor

By Alan Duke, CNN

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The search begins Thursday for 18 Los Angeles County citizens who can put aside what they've heard about Michael Jackson's death so they can sit in judgment of the doctor charged with causing it.

In all, up to 450 potential jurors will report to the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles between Thursday and Monday for the selection process in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.

Murray, who faces trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge, will be introduced to 160 potential jurors who will then answer 30 pages of questions to determine if they are qualified to be on the jury.

The last roadblock to the start of Murray's trial came Wednesday when a California appeals court rejected the defense's petition for a delay so that the issue of jury sequestration could be reconsidered.

Murray's lawyer's had argued that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor had abused his discretion by rejecting a request that the jury be kept in a hotel for the duration of the trial.

They compared the upcoming trial to the recent coverage of the Casey Anthony murder trial in Florida and said Murray could not get a fair trial if the jury was not isolated from what they expect will be non-stop media coverage.

"Petition is denied in the absence in a showing of abuse of discretion," the brief appeals ruling said.

While the 12 jurors and six alternates will be allowed to return home after court each day, the five weeks or more of testimony can take a toll on their finances and families.

Pastor's first task is to decide who in the pool of potential jurors likely would not endure the duration of the trial.

Opening statements in the trial, which will be televised, are expected to be delivered on September 27.

Evidence intended to prove Jackson could not have caused his own death might not be allowed in trial, Pastor said in a hearing Wednesday.

Murray's defense is built on the theory that Jackson drank propofol, the surgical anesthetic the coroner concluded killed him, while the doctor was away from his bedside on the morning of June 25, 2009.

Prosecutors want jurors to hear expert testimony based on a recent experiment conducted on six university students in Chile they argue proves there is "zero possibility that the propofol was orally ingested."

Pastor raised questions about the experiment in a hearing Wednesday.

"I need more information about the underlying data since it is not a scientific published article," Pastor said. "I don't know the source of the information."

The judge will allow a prosecution expert to testify about a study on piglets conducted at a veterinary college in Norway, a report defense attorneys argued has nothing to do with how oral ingestion of propofol would affect a human being.

The study involved five piglets that "have propofol suppositories shoved up their rectums and they are watched to see if they went to sleep," defense attorney Michael Flanagan said. "The rectum is at the other end of the (gastrointestinal) system."

Prosecutors contend Murray, who was hired as Jackson's personal physician as the singer rehearsed for comeback concerts, used a makeshift IV drip to administer propofol intended to help Jackson sleep, a practice they argue violated the standard of care and led to the pop icon's death.

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