Jury selected for trial of Michael Jackson's personal doctor

Xinhua, September 24, 2011

A jury of seven men and five women was selected on Friday to hear the trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician next week.

The jurors were chosen from among 84 prospective panelists as the selection wound up after a over-two-week process. Six other people were sworn in as alternate jurors. However, one of them was quickly dismissed for unknown reasons.

Conrad Murray, 58, a cardiologist who was hired by the late pop icon as his personal physician, was charged with involuntary manslaughter over the singer's sudden death on June 25, 2009.

Murray is accused of administering propofol, a potent anesthetic, on Jackson to help him sleep, then failing to properly monitor him while the King of Pop was rehearsing for his comeback London concerts. If convicted, he will face up to four years behind bars.

The jurors will return to the downtown Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday as the trial kicks off and attorneys are expected to give their opening statements.

The jurors, ranging in age from their 30s to 50s, include high school graduates. Some of them have attended college or have a college degree and one with an MBA. They live throughout Los Angeles County.

They were chosen after attorneys from each side had used the maximum 10 peremptory challenges by which they can excuse a juror without having to state a reason. The alternates were selected after the defense used all of its six peremptory challenges, while the prosecution dismissed four prospective alternates.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor, who will take charge of the trial, advised the jurors again not to "read, listen to or watch any news report or any other commentary about this case from any source" and to "keep an open mind throughout the trial."

The judge, in a ruling filed last month, rejected a motion filed by Murray's defense lawyers, Edward Chernoff and Nareg Gourjian, requesting to sequester jurors during what is expected to be a highly publicized trial that could last four to five weeks.

Citing that he has "tremendous faith in the jury system," the judge noted that jurors, who will eat their snacks and meals in a jury room to avoid exposure to the public during the court day, would be subject to "very strict rules and regulations."