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Jury Selected for Michael Jackson Wrongful Death Trial
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HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images
Judgment day is drawing closer for Katherine Jackson and AEG Live.
A six-man, six-woman jury was seated today for the trial about to unfold concerning the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's mother against the concert promoter behind the pop star's 50-date London engagement that never came to pass in 2009.
A judge has already dismissed many of the lawsuit's original claims, leaving intact an allegation of negligent hiring regarding Conrad Murray, the cardiologist who was supposedly looking after Jackson's medical needs and was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering the overdose of the heavy anesthetic propofol that killed the artist.
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Murray, meanwhile, appealed his conviction today, his lawyer arguing in a 230-page brief that her client was made to be an example due to his patient's high-profile status and that multiple legal errors were committed at trial.
AEG has maintained that Jackson had a drug problem long before they ever got into business with him, and that Murray was one of many doctors who had treated him in the past and the promoter did not contract with Murray to care for Jackson.
In allowing the negligent-hiring charge to remain on the table, however, a judge determined that, among other things, discussions of a possible $150,000-per-month salary for Murray could imply that there was a contract.
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Attorneys for Katherine, who is suing on behalf of herself and Jackson's three children, are arguing that AEG Live did hire Murray and, in so doing, ignored various red flags, including his personal financial issues.
Murray is on both sides' lists of potential witnesses for the upcoming trial.
Three alternate jurors still need to be seated, after which the trial is expected to last for roughly three months.
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