Update!

Michael Jackson Manslaughter Trial Postponed Thanks to Slowpoke Lawyers

Opening statements now won't begin until May 9, as opposed to April 5

By Natalie Finn Mar 02, 2011 11:29 PMTags
Dr. Conrad MurrayFrederick M. Brown/Getty Images

UPDATE: Judge Pastor approved the defense's request for access to original fingerprints taken from a broken syringe found in Jackson's bedroom. Murray's team will reportedly argue that Jackson injected himself with a lethal dose of propofol.
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Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers have a whole extra month to sweat the small stuff.

A judge reluctantly postponed opening statements in the Michael Jackson manslaughter trial from April 5 to May 9, citing the ongoing exchange of information between the prosecution and Murray's defense team.

MORE: Five shocking things heard in the Michael Jackson manslaughter hearing

"I did not want to burn prospective jurors," L.A. Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor said in court today, noting that several hundred people are still scheduled to come in on March 24 to fill out questionnaires about the Murray case. (Spoiler alert, guys: They've heard of Michael Jackson and read about this case.)

But because the attorneys are still passing prospective witness lists and other evidence back and forth, the judge said he was forced to delay the trial.

Murray, who's accused of injecting Jackson with a lethal dose of propofol and not properly monitoring his vitals afterward, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. When Pastor ordered the case to trial after preliminary proceedings, he also ordered that Murray's California medical license be suspended immediately.

"We're going to have a lot of work to do between now and then," the judge said today.

WATCH: Dr. Murray pleads not guilty