Dr. Conrad Murray's Jury Selection Fiasco

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 28, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

             Approaching the start Dr. Conrad Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial—the doctor accused of administering a lethal dose of Propfol to pop music icon Michael Jackson June 25, 2009—Murray’s lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff wrangled over jury selection.  Chernoff wants to find sympathetic jurors to Murray’s defense that Jackson accidentally committed suicide with a self-administered dose of Propofol.  Murray wants to disown any responsibility for overdosing Jackson, blaming the singer’s death on his own negligence and recklessness.  Of the 340 jurors interviewed last week, only 140 indicated they could handle a two-month trial.  From the available jury pool, Chernoff is more concerned about how the jurors respond to the 27-page, 160-item juror questionnaire, trying to rule out jurors with any bias against the defense, but, more importantly, Dr. Murray himself.

Since in-person jury selection is not expected until May 4, the rigorous process of screening jurors—known as voir dire—can make or break the case.  Regardless of how skillful prosecutors or defense attorneys, it’s difficult to overcome juror biases either for or against the defense or prosecution.  When Atty. Johnnie L. Cochran picked jurors for the Jan. 20 - Oct. 3, 1995 O.J. Simpson trial, he cleverly looked for any indication of police paranoia, something more prevalent in the eight blacks and two mixed race members of the 12-member jury.  Cochran knew he could play on jurors’ racial sensitivities with white police.  Chernoff knows that those same sensitivities exist in trying to finger Murray in the death of Michael Jackson.  Chernoff also knows that, unlike Cochran, he’s at a distinct disadvantage with minorities, seeking to pick a jury that distrusts the state’s best evidence.

Presiding Judge Michael Pastor requested that the 27-page, 160-item questionnaire remain confidential until the panel is seated for the expected trial date of May 9.  When Chernoff learned that Murray’s publicist Miranda Severik passed some questions on to celebrity gossip website TMZ, she was abruptly dismissed, anticipating more buzz than 1995 O.J. Simpson trial.  So far, Chernoff insists that prospective jurors have no knowledge of Muraay’s involvement in Jackson’s death, a tall order to fill when you consider the popularity of Michael Jackson, far greater than O.J.  Jackson’s dramatic June 25 death in theBeverly Hills-adjacent posh, celebrity-darted hillside Los Angeles neighborhood known as Holmby Hills.  Because of Chernoff’s attempts to screen out jurors with prior knowledge of the case, Judge pastor has been catering lunches to shield prospective jurors

Given the high profile nature of Jackson’s death and Murray’s involvement, it’s unrealistic to expect jurors to have no prior knowledge.  If jurors truly have no knowledge of the case, they could be unfit for jury service based on social withdrawal, isolation or mental deterioration.  Judge Pastor knows what Chernoff is trying to do, eliminating prospective jurors based on knowledge of the case. Chernoff also knows there’s a point where too much juror oblivion might show a lack of mental faculties needed to evaluate evidence.  Prospective jurors in high profile celebrity cases during the voir dire sometimes minimize knowledge of the case to get impaneled.   Prosecutors, like defense attorneys, also want to make sure that prospective jurors don’t have stubborn biases about law enforcement and the courts, prejudicing potential convictions and sentencing.

 Much of the state’s case against Murray stems not what he didn’t do when he found Jackson lifeless in the morning of June 25, 2009 bit what he did do treating Jackson’s insomnia with a risky procedure without any medical precedent.  When opening statements begin May 9, prosecutors might mention testimony of security guard Alberto Alvarez who was the first security guard to see Jackson’s lifeless body.  He testified that Murray asked him to put pill bottles, IV and Propfol vials in a bag before Murray told him to call 911.  Alvarez also observed Murray performing “CPR” with one hand on Jackson’s bed, a process requiring a flat surface with two hands.  “He just grabbed a handful of bottles, or vials, and he instructed me to put them in a bag,” Alvarez told LAPD detectives.  A paramedic finally sent to Jackson’s hone also testified Murray removed vials from the bedroom floor.

Judge Pastor’s going to have put limits on Chernoff’s attempts to exclude jurors based on having prior knowledge of the case.  Pastor only needs to apply the standard that prospective jurors should be impartial when weighing out evidence by the prosecution and the defense.  While waiting for paramedics to arrive, Murray reportedly asked Alvarez whether anyone else knew CPR, admitting that he’d never performed it.  Yet Murray didn’t call 911 as soon as he found Jackson lifeless, not breathing.  Disposing of crime vials, pill bottles and medical equipment also look suspicious.  Facts like these lead the Jackson family to believe that Murray engaged in premeditated murder.  Murray’s biggest problem stems from experimenting with an untested insomnia treatment, namely, an off-label, unapproved use of Propfol for treating Jackson’s chronic insomnia.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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