AEG-MICHAEL JACKSON trial, DAY 1 and the FIRST IMPRESSIONS

What was meant to be an account of the first day of the trial only turned into a chronicle of its first three days accompanied by  some of my spontaneous notes.

DAY 1

April 29, 2013 

My previous opinion of AEG has now been only enforced – this bulldozer rolls over people’s bodies and then hides all the traces by littering the place with blatant lies. Some of their lies are noticeable even in their attorney’s opening statement.

The Jacksons’ attorney Brian Panish: “We can never really put a price on the value of one’s life. The emotional devastation inflicted on surviving family members can be far greater than the economic loss”

However my resentment with AEG does not mean that I do not have reservations about the Plaintiff’s manner of presenting their case either.

If we assume that the information is adequately reported by the ARC7 Court News people who tweet it from the court premises, the first impression you get is that the Jacksons’ lawyers spring from their own judgment of Michael which may be not often correct. This most probably reflects the preconceived notions of the family too whose worries about Michael always seemed to me over-exaggerated and often misplaced.

Over here I am not surprised as parents often tend to think that their children misbehave when they are not looking, and by assuming the worst alienate their children from themselves, and this is why the fact that Brian Panish is basing his strategy on some of these assumptions does not seem to the best way to handle the case.

A much better one would be to show AEG’s fraudulent manipulations with the contract and their deceit of Michael about the dates, their sabotage of Michael’s decisions and their own slowness in the production process and all the rest of it which turned Michael’s happy anticipation of the concerts into a deep anxiety which lasted for months.

However I also understand that since the matter was reduced by the judge to medical issues only, Brian Panish’s strategy can now be a forced decision, the only one left to him for lack of other possibilities, which makes me suspect that the powers opposing Jacksons counted exactly on this scenario. What they are doing now looks like a ridicule of Katherine: “So you wanted justice? Then we’ll make you feel sorry that you did. The territory chosen for the battle is all ours, so see what we will do…”.

Evil and malice always act that way – they know your vulnerabilities and force you into silence by threatening to hit where it hurts most. This is why many prefer to stay away from the fight even if they crushed your bones and made a feast on your remains. But if you keep silent then it will mean that they will always have their way.

So accepting the “bad points”  from the start of it, with making no bones about it, may not be that bad a strategy after all. It deprives the other side of the pleasure of declaring it first.

The other conclusion I make from the first day is that Brian Panish’s concept of AEG’s intentions and goals is different from my own assessment of it, however I do not object – Jacksons’ attorneys have access to much more information and may know better, and over here I am willing to listen and do not aspire to knowing the whole truth.

AEG’s lawyer, Marvin Putnam. The primary focus of the legal practice is “Media in defense of the First Amendment rights” according to the official biography

The first day also made it clear that AEG has given up all pretence now and is showing to the world its true face. Now it is not stopping at nothing in order to drown in the mud the genius whom they previously sang the praises of.

Their expressions like “he had a deepest dark secret no one knew of” immediately paint the picture of some catacombs where the villain must have been burying people alive, while in reality Michael Jackson’s problem was just a total inability to sleep,  sometimes for several days running and this necessitated some medicine in order just to survive. Normal people will look at this problem with sympathy and it is only AEG and people like them who will feign horror at a mere mentioning of it.

Why don’t all these people discuss Liz Taylor or Mick Jagger in the same manner though both of them admitted drug escapades? Probably because they were awarded knighthood, praised for their excellence and are looked upon by the public as awesome stars, idols and even legends? And all this while Michael Jackson the insomniac should be called the most despicable names?

In short all of it is about hypocrisy again.

When they try to trap you into their hypocrisy nets don’t hesitate to pull it away and snatch its ugly mask off the faces of these fake moralizers.  They’d better looked at themselves and revised their whole system of values before throwing mud at Michael Jackson. He was the biggest victim of their hypocrisy and now needs a break.

As to the Jacksons’ lawyers I wish they had a chance to take a different line of resistance. However even if they can’t, I am praying that the winner in the case will still be the truth. And the truth may well turn out to be different from anything both parties are discussing here.

Despite all the mess of it by God’s will the truth may reveal the sparkling beauty of Michael Jackson’s nature, his honorable character, his pure intentions akin to a child and the enormous love he had for people despite the extreme hardship and pain inflicted to him by other humans since the first years of his life to his dying day.

*  *  *

At the moment the reports of my favorite LA Times are rather decent and well-balanced. The only inaccuracy I noticed in their latest article is that Michael allegedly agreed to 50 shows (he didn’t).

The headline explains the reason why Michael used Demerol at all, and this information should be known to the general public so that they don’t make the mistake of thinking that it was for recreation purposes. In fact it was the excruciating pain of the burn and the scalp surgery that followed it which introduced Demerol into Michael’s life. For those who don’t yet know it let me say that the plastic surgeon was stretching Michael’s scalp and the pain of it had to be dulled by Demerol as the process of it was taking months. This is how it started:

Jackson‘s drug use started after Pepsi commercial, attorney says

By Corina Knoll and Jeff Gottlieb

April 29, 2013, 11:36 a.m.
With fortunes and reputations at stake, attorneys began opening statements Monday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom where a powerful entertainment giant stands accused of playing a critical role in the death of entertainer Michael Jackson.

The wrongful-death suit filed by Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren — Prince, Paris and Blanket — accuses AEG of negligently hiring and controlling Dr. Conrad Murray, who administered a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to Jackson shortly before he was to begin his “This Is It” comeback concerts in London.

Brian Panish, the attorney representing the pop singer’s mother and children, told jurors in opening statements Monday that Jackson had developed a problem with prescription medication and at times became “dependent” on the drugs.

Jackson, the attorney said, also suffered from anxiety that “became more prevalent when he was going through a rigorous schedule.”

The entertainer’s drug problem, Panish said, took off in 1984 when he suffered second and third-degree burns while filming a Pepsi commercial.

The wrongful-death suit contends the entertainment firm threatened to end Jackson’s career if he failed to come through with the concerts and ordered Murray to keep the performer on track.

Philip Anschutz, owner of AEG

AEG, which owns Staples Center in addition to other arenas and sports venues, maintains it was Jackson who insisted that Murray come on board as his doctor.

The trial begins after three weeks of jury selection in which potential jurors were vetted to determine whether they were even able to sit on a case that could last up to four months. Six men and six women were impaneled last week, and six alternates were also named.

As in life, Jackson’s eccentric lifestyle is expected to take center stage as attorneys poke though the entertainer’s once-massive fortune, his voluminous medical history and the final days when he was attempting to pull off what was being sold as a series of stunning comeback concerts in London.

While Jackson had only agreed to 50 dates in London, AEG proposed a three-year worldwide tour in which one executive estimated ticket sales could exceed $450 million. Billboard magazine estimated AEG’s profits would hit $115 million for the London shows, with Jackson earning $1 million a night.

According to the contract between them, AEG advanced Jackson close to $30 million, which included a $15-million line of credit, a $5-million advance, $7.5 million to cover production costs to mount the shows and rent for a $100,000-a- month Holmby Hills mansion.

According to the lawsuit, if the singer failed to generate enough money to pay back the loans, AEG could seize his assets, among them a valuable song catalogue that includes songs by the Beatles, Aretha Franklin and the Jackson family.

The lawsuit contends that AEG knew of Jackson’s fragile health but put “its desire for massive profits from the tour over the health and safety of Michael Jackson.”

“Three loving children lost their father, a loving mother and father lost their son, the Jackson siblings lost their brother and the world lost its most celebrated entertainer,” the complaint said.

A central question will be who actually employed Murray: Jackson or AEG?

The Las Vegas doctor, deep in debt himself, was supposed to be paid $150,000 a month. Murray, who worked with Jackson for two months to prepare him for the concerts, signed a contract the night before Jackson’s death but it was never signed by AEG executives nor the singer.

The entertainment firm, along with company executives, argues that it was Jackson who hired Murray and insisted on keeping him as his doctor.

Tim Leiweke, AEG’s CEO (now dismissed)

AEG is an influential political player in Los Angeles, stamping its reputation by building L.A. Live and Staples Center and now working with the city to construct a downtown NFL stadium to help attract a pro football team. But the company has been in upheaval for months, with owner Philip Anschutz putting it on the market and then just as suddenly pulling it off.

The list of potential witnesses in the wrongful-death case is guaranteed to bring out the paparazzi and gossip traffickers. Jackson’s mother and father, sibilings and other relatives — close to 20 Jacksons in all — are expected to testify. So are Michael Jackson’s children.

Also on the witness lists are performers Diana Ross and Prince; Quincy Jones, who produced Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album; filmmaker Spike Lee; Jackson’s former wives, Debbie Rowe and Lisa Marie Presley; AEG owner Anschutz; and one-time Hulk Lou Ferrigno, who was Jackson’s trainer.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-jackson-aeg-20130426,0,4057600,full.story

While Michael Jackson was having his problems AEG was having his own.  Brian Panish, the Jacksons’ lawyer says that AEG’s problem was that they weren’t not No.1  in the concert business and evidently could not live a happy life until they took the upper hand over their competitor Live Nation.

Peter Lopez, Michael Jackson’s attorney. Committed suicide in April 2010. No weapon was found beside his body

Let me note in this connection that Live Nation was also brought to Michael Jackson. The person who introduced them to each other was Michael’s lawyer Peter Lopez, however Tohme who was managing Michael’s affairs at the time drove the company away as he was “unimpressed”.

Tohme Tohme was Michael Jackson’s manager in 2008-2009

Tohme spoke about it to Randall Sullivan whose book is now quoting Tohme on half of its pages. See how Tohme pretends that it was Lopez who suggested AEG (while in reality AEG was imposed on Michael by Tohme’s friend Tom Barrack who set it as a condition for the Neverland deal) and how Tohme “was unaware” of Randy Phillips courting Michael for almost two years by the time Tohme entered Michael’s life.

Here is an excerpt from Randall Sullivan’s book:

“Lopez first set up a meeting with Live Nation that left Tohme unimpressed. “ I don’t like those guys,” he recalled telling Lopez, who then suggested AEG. Tohme claimed to be unaware of Michael’s previous meeting with Randy Phillips, who had never entirely given up on signing Michael to an AEG Live contract. What really moved things along was a phone conversation between a pair of billionaires, Barrack and Anschutz.”

Immediately after Anschutz got off the phone with Barrack, he called Randy Phillips and asked him to meet with the Colony Capital CEO to talk about what it would take to secure a commitment from Michael Jackson to perform a series of concerts at the O2 in London. Barrack passed Phillips on to Tohme, who suggested that the AEG Live chief meet him for a drink at the Hotel Bel-Air.

AEG’s CEO Randy Phillips

“ So we sat, we talked, I liked him,” Tohme recalled. “ He will do anything to have Michael Jackson. He said that. I said, ‘We need advances, we need this, we need that. Let me think about it and talk to Michael.” Phillips’s stock got a boost when Dennis Hawk, the attorney who had been brought in to assist Tohme in managing Michael’s affairs, told Jackson and Tohme that Phillips was “a classy guy” who could be trusted to help put on a show that would be everything they hoped for.”

It is especially after reading about Randy Phillips being “a classy guy” that the article below looks like a refreshing breeze:

Jackson lawyers paint AEG as ruthless, greedy

By Corina Knoll and Jeff Gottlieb

April 29, 2013, 1:29 p.m.

The attorney for Michael Jackson’s family painted entertainment powerhouse Anschutz Entertainment Group as a gang of ruthless executives concerned only with becoming No. 1 in the concert business and caring nothing about the singer’s well-being.

Attorney Brian Panish began his opening statement Monday in the Jackson-AEG suit by talking about Jackson’s addiction to prescription drugs.

He also mentioned Dr. Conrad Murray, the debt-ridden doctor who administered the fatal dose of propofol to Jackson and was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

But it was AEG, Panish said, that completed the puzzle in Jackson’s 2009 death.

“Michael had a problem, Dr. Murray had a problem and AEG had a problem,” Panish told the jury of six men and six women in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Monday.

AEG’s CEO Paul Gongaware

“You know what AEG’s problem was? They were not No. 1 in the concert business but they wanted to be.”

The attorney said the company wanted to exploit Jackson to catch up to their competitor in the concert business, Live Nation, at all costs.

“You don’t do that with white gloves,” Panish said. “You do what you gotta do if you want to be No. 1 in this rough business of concert promotions.”

The wrongful-death suit against AEG was filed by the singer’s mother, Katherine — who was in the courtroom Monday along with Michael Jackson’s siblings Rebbie and Randy — and his three children. Jackson died on the eve of what was to be a comeback series of concerts in 2009.

The suit accuses AEG of pushing Jackson beyond his limits and being responsible for hiring and controlling Murray.

“There were no rules,” Panish told the jury, when it came to furthering AEG’s success. “It didn’t matter what it took. … AEG had a problem and they wanted to fix it and they didn’t care who got lost in the wash.”

Using slides and photos, Panish quoted from emails among AEG executives that surfaced last year as evidence of the attitude. In one, AEG Live President and CEO Randy Phillips described screaming at Jackson, whom he called an “emotionally paralyzed mess,” before a news conference.

“Forget about helping Mr. Jackson,” Panish said. “The show must go on.”

Murray’s involvement only created a downward spiral for Jackson because the doctor’s “financial condition made him susceptible to pressure and created a conflict between his patient’ needs and AEG’s needs,” Panish said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jackson-aeg-20130429,0,3881562.story

Here is a link to the page containing all LA Times articles on the trial:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/lanow/la-me-ln-aeg-jackson-wrongful-death-trial-20130422,0,2325741.storygallery

And here is a link to the tweets sent by the staff of AVC7 Court News during every trial session: https://twitter.com/ABC7Courts

I’ve brought together all the tweets for the first day of the trial and to make them more readable rearranged them in a chronological order. The points that looked most important to me were marked in bold type and some seemed so important that were marked red:

	ABC7 Court News ‏@ABC7Courts
1	Judge Yvette Palazuelos is not allowing live tweets from the courtroom. We’ll bring you all the details of the trial as soon as we can
2	This is a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Katherine Jackson, Prince, Paris and Blanket accusing AEG of negligent hiring of Dr. Murray
3	AEG denies any wrongdoing, saying they haven’t even hired Dr. Conrad Murray. They claim Michael Jackson was the one who hired the doctor
4	Jacksons attorney, Brian Panish and his team, is already in the courtroom. AEG’s attorney Marvin Putnam and his team just entered the room
5	AEG Live CEO, Shawn Trell, is present too. No members of the Jackson family arrived yet.
6	Reporters are lined up outside the courtroom ready to go in. Can’t take pictures inside the courthouse, fyi.
7	Katherine Jackson, Randy and Rebbie just entered the courtroom. Several lawyers, bodyguards and sheriffs escorted the family.
8	When Katherine Jackson walked the hallway, some MJ fans told her: “We love you, Mrs. Jackson” and she replied “We love you more!”
9	Some Michael Jackson fans had tears in their eyes.
10	Courtroom is filled to capacity. Dr. Conrad Murray’s appellate lawyer, Valerie Wass, is also present. She says her client is innocent!
11	Randy and Rebbie walked the front door of the courthouse. You can watch all the coverage on @ABC7 Eyewitness News at 11am, 4, 5, 6, 11pm PT
12	Judge Yvette Palazuelos is on the bench right now. However, I see the jurors in this case are hanging down the hall.
13	Several Michael Jackson’s fans hanging out in the hallway outside the courtroom. One man has a MJ Immortal t-shirt.
14	Brian Panish just exited the courtroom, along with Randy. Bathroom break. Judge is hearing motions still. Opening to begin shortly.
15	Jury walking into the courtroom now. Opening statements to begin shortly.
16	They were escorted by the courtroom assistant. Opening has begun.
17	@TRUTH_ETERNITY We cannot take pictures inside the courthouse and in the hallways. No cameras allowed in the courtroom.
18	Watch @ABC7 Eyewitness News at 11am, 4, 5, 6, 11pm for the latest updates, video of arrivals, news conferences. We’ll post stories online 2
19	We’ll tweet pictures of the outside of the courthouse during lunch break, in about an hour or so.
20	From outside the hallway through a little windows on the courtroom’s door I see presentation of MJ’s video; mention of Pepsi commercial
21	Brian Panish, attorney for the Jacksons, is showing a video presentation to the jury. There was a slide showing drug Demerol.
22	@TrueNewsZone Live tweeting from inside the courtroom is prohibited. We’re tweeting from the hallway. 😉
23	@Lady_Rebel_ No, only Randy and Rebbie are present with mother Katherine Jackson.
24	There’s a slide up now showing the relationship between Michael Jackson & Dr. Conrad Murray. Jury to decide who hired Dr. Murray: AEG or MJ?
25	Panish showing slide of drug Propofol. It says MJ was given the powerful anesthetic almost daily for six months [weeks]
26	Panish showed jurors slide of the agreement between MJ and AEG, that AEG was to provide “producers” for the tour.
27	Morning session over. Plaintiffs halfway through their opening statements. Katherine, Randy and Rebbie out of the courtroom. Jurors out too
28	Dr. Conrad Murray’ appellate attorney, Valerie Wass, tells @abc7 if doc will testify. Watch her on Eyewitness News pic.twitter.com/YD6ySkvJOD
29	Media outside the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/4U41yln1Ij
30	Another angle pic.twitter.com/nPe14gA8CX
31	Yet another angle outside courthouse. pic.twitter.com/bD0HKnwvbC
32	Here’s what happened in court this morning: prior to the jurors coming in, the parties had housekeeping matters to discuss.
33	AEG’s attorney said Jacksons attorneys handed them 200 slides improperly labeled. It was slides the plaintiffs wanted to use during opening
34	Defense objected to a form of independent contractor that they say was not generated by AEG.
35	Defense challenged plaintiffs slide that’s says “It’s undisputed that Michael Jackson loved his kids.”
36	Defense says it is disputed whether there was a meeting of the minds about a supposed contract with Dr. Murray.
37	Judge said she wants to find out if Dr. Conrad Murray will testify. He’s on both of witnesses list. Defense said they intent to call him
38	Plaintiffs say the claimed Jacksons’ statements of damages, $40 billion, is attorneys calculation, not the assertion by Jackson family
39	Plaintiffs say the amount of $40 billion is only a notification to defendants as to their amount of exposure.
40	The courtroom was sooooo jam packed, it felt like a sardine can! Attorneys had to climb out of their seats to approach the judge!
41	Katherine, Randy and Rebbie sat in the first row. Panish said MJ was an athlete and a dancer and over time there was wear and tear
42	Panish: there’s no dispute MJ went to various doctors for Demerol. He also had problems with sleep and sought Propofol.
43	Panish: Propofol doesn’t provide restful sleep. Many doctors would not give him Propofol at home, since it needed equipment, crash cart
44	Panish: his family believes he had problems w/ prescription meds. The only ones who will say they never heard anything about it is AEG
45	Panish: the evidence will show in April Dr. Murray stockpiled Propofol in anticipation of treating Michael for the tour.
46	Panish: the evidence will show that Conrad Murray had an oral contract with AEG.
47	Panish: MJ would get daily doses of Propofol for six weeks in May and June, leading up to his death
48	Panish: LAPD searched Dr. Murray’s car and found a business card, an envelope and a contract between AEG and Dr. Murray
49	The business card was of Brandon Phillips, the CEO for AEG.
50	We’re on a 15 minute break. Plaintiff finished their opening statements about half an hour ago. Defense has began their presentation
51	It is a short break, so I’ll tweet as much as I can. All the details at the end of the day for sure.
52	Katherine Jackson took a bathroom break. On her way back into the courtroom she interacted with the fans in the hallway again.
53	Panish in his opening: AEG had a problem. They were not number 1 in the concert business. Live Nation was. They wanted to catch up
54	Back in the courtroom. More updates soon and on @ABC7 Eyewitness News at 4, 5 and 6pm, PT.
55	Panish: there was no risk to AEG, since the production (of the tour) would be secured by MJ’s assets, which included the Sony catalog
56	Panish: “he is 50 but he’s going to dance his ass off.”
57	Panish: the mindset of AEG was that the show must go on. He said jury will have to decide on who to believe.
58	Panish described to the jury a series of emails where AEG executives talk about backing off the show would be a disaster.
59	Panish said they wrote to each other that MJ made to the This is It press conference but was locked in his room
60	Panish continues saying the execs wrote that MJ was emotionally paralyzed, mess riddled with self loathing and doubt. He is scared to death
61	Panish: evidence will show MJ requested a doctor… plus opiates. Paul Gongaware talked to Dr. Murray and closes the deal.
62	Panish showed a clip of Gongaware saying they didn’t investigate Dr. Murray and he had no supervision.
63	Panish showed the jury an email from Gongaware: “We want to remind him (Dr. Murray) that AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary”.
64	Email continues: “We want him (Dr. Murray) to understand what it’s expected of him.”
65	Panish showed email from Kenny Ortega: “MJ didn’t have a good Friday, he’s not in great physical shape, I believe he’s hurting.”
66	Kenny email: “my concern now is that we brought the doctor in the fold and have played tough love… He appeared quite weak and fatigued”
67	Ortega to Phillips: there are strong signs of panic, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior. I think the very best is to hire a psychiatrist
68	Phillips to Ortega: his (MJ) doctor is extremely successful (we checked everyone out) and does not need this gig, he’s unbiased & ethical
69	Phillips to Ortega: you cannot imagine the harm and ramifications of stopping the show now.
70	Panish said AEG executives lied, since they didn’t check Dr. Murray, who was in financial distress. But AEG wanted the show to go on.
71	Phillips email after meeting at MJ’s house: doctor was fantastic and I think Kenny’s hysteria will be in check once MJ was alert/attentive
72	Panish said AEG had $17.5 million in insurance and before MJ does they were trying to secure more insurance.
73	Email when AEG was putting together This is it movie: make sure we take out shots of MJ in red jacket… He looks too thin, skeletal
74	Panish then showed a handwritten letter MJ wrote for Katherine Jackson. It’s called “Mother, My Guardian Angel.”
75	Panish told jurors they are not looking for sympathy, they were looking for the truth and justice.
76	Panish: no 1 will come here and say MJ wasn’t a great father. Atty played a song Michael wrote 2 his kids called “A beautiful thing to see”
77	Panish said MJ made his kids wear masks because he didn’t want his children to be recognized.
78	Panish said defendants made up that the family was trying to recover $40 billion in special damages. He says it’s $1.5 billion economic loss
79	Panish: AEG hired him (Dr. Murray), AEG was going to pay Murray. They didn’t pay him because they stiffed him.
80	Panish said Dr. Murray signed the contract the day before MJ died. AEG had not signed it yet, but said it was not unusual to work without 1
81	Panish: they took advantage of a sick man. No doctor ever gave MJ Propofol at home until Dr. Murray. AEG needs to pay the price.
82	Marvin Putnam, attorney for AEG, did the opening statements for the defendants. He began introducing his team and AEG executives.
83	Putnam told the jury to look at the evidence, what it actually says. “This case is about the choices we make; and the responsibilities”
84	Putnam: evidence is going to show public MJ was very different from private MJ. MJ erected a wall between him and his family, staff
85	Putnam said MJ kept his public and private life separated. He had 40 years to perfect that; he learned very well the cost of being exposed
86	Putnam: we’re going to show you some ugly stuff. Why? AEG Live, Paul Gongaware, Randy Phillips were sued, it’s not going to be pretty
87	Putnam said MJ’s death was a big event, he was a public figure, talented, lived in front of us. It was tragic, he was loved all over
88	Putnam said it took 2 months to find out what caused MJ’s death. MJ had died of overdose of something called Propofol.
89	Putnam: as with MJ’s life, MJ’s death was anything but typical. Death was classified as homicide, Murray found guilty of manslaughter
90	While the world had not heard of Propofol, Putnam said, Mr. Jackson had. Evidence will show he had been using the drug for years.
91	Putnam said MJ had a decade-long Propofol use. AEG didn’t know about it, how could’ve they know? They didn’t make MJ’s medical decisions
92	Putnam said that everyone knew MJ abused painkillers, since Michael announced it in 1993, ended the tour and entered rehab.
93	Even his family wasn’t sure what was going on at time. They tried intervention and failed. Why? Because MJ was an addicted, said Putnam
94	Putnam: MJ fooled everybody. He made sure no one, nobody, knew his deepest dark secret.
95	Putnam showed a clip of This is It movie two days before MJ died. He argued MJ was amazing, attentive, great performance
96	Putnam takes the jury back to the 2000s, when MJ went through a hideous criminal trial accuses of child molestation. He was acquitted
97	In 2007, Putnam says MJ approached AEG with the idea for a come back. But he decided he wasn’t ready.
98	In 2008, MJ approached AEG again. He was now prepared to go forward, Putnam said, even though he hadn’t toured for about a decade.
99	Putnam described MJ’s lavish lifestyle and that he was spending more than he was making. By 2009 he was $400 million in debt
100	He had to bring in some money, Putnam said, so he had to go back Mas do what MJ does best: perform. There was no performer like MJ
101	Putnam described for the jury how a concert happens. The producers advance money so the artist can put the show on the road.
102	Once show is in full swing, the artist pays back the producers and they split the profits. MJ was to get 90% and AEG 10%, Putnam said
103	Putnam then talked about who is Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware. Phillips deals with the artist, good schmoozer, Gongaware is the techie
104	Putnam said AEG decided 2 tour in London because they didn’t know what kind of response MJ was going to have and he had large fab base there
105	Production advances, to cover mutually-agreed production costs was $7.5 million, Putnam told the jurors, saying it was MJ who Jose the staff
106	In Feb 09, MJ was required to do a physical exam in order to get insurance. It’s called non-appearance insurance, Putnam said
107	MJ was seeing by a doctor chosen by the insurance company and he determined MJ was healthy, no sign if drug use, Putnam said.
108	Putnam says MJ told Gongaware he was going to bring his personal doctor to the tour with him. He was talking about Dr. Murray.
109	Putnam: MJ expected AEG to assume the payment for Dr. Murray just like he did with everyone else.
110	Putnam: it was not AEG’s choice who Mr. Jackson’s doctor is. It’s a personal choice by Mr. Jackson and he chose Dr. Murray
111	Putnam: AEG never paid Dr. Murray anything. They did budget it. He then played audio of Murray’a interview with LAPD, saying MJ hire him
112	In the interview with LAPD, Dr. Murray said he was an employee for Michael Jackson but paid through AEG.
113	Putnam went back to the addiction to painkillers issue again. He said MJ would get minor cosmetic or dental procedures and get the drugs
114	Putnam showed a slide called Doctor Shopping, where he identified 45 different doctors who treated MJ.
115	Putnam said MJ was very secretive even with his own doctors. He wouldn’t tell one doctor about what the other doctor was doing
116	Putnam said MJ resisted all attempts to get help. Family tried interventions, he turned down rehab and denied he had any addiction.
117	Putnam: Mr. Jackson got very good at hiding his addiction. He didn’t let anyone see it, not his staff, not his children. This was private MJ
118	Putnam: sometime in 1990s MJ began using Propofol. This was a big secret, so secret no one knew, not even his doctors.
119	Putnam said a nurse named Debbie Rowe knew about it; saw doctor give MJ Propofol on tour. She wanted to make sure she was there & MJ woke up
120	Putnam then showed the floor plan of MJ’s house. He said no one was allowed in MJ’s bedroom, not even the housekeepers. Only Dr. Murray
121	Putnam said that at night MJ would lock his bedroom’s door so no one had access to the room. He said it wasn’t for AEG to look into Murray
122	At the end, Putnam asked the jurors to wait until they hear all the evidence from both sides before making a judgement.
123	Putnam said he didn’t talk about their claim for money damages because he thinks there weren’t any.
124	Putnam: this case is about personal choices. There’s no question MJ’s death was horrible, but evidence will show you it was not AEG’s making
125	Session ended 40 minutes after the regular schedule. Jurors are ordered to return tomorrow at 10 am PT
126	Judge ordered attorneys to be there earlier to discuss two notes sent but jurors. Don’t know the content of them.
127	First plaintiffs witness is LAPD detective Orlando Martinez. He’s going to testify about his interview with Dr. Murray and who hired him
128	We’ll be in court again tomorrow and will tweet as soon as we can. Catch all the latest developments on @ABC7 Eyewitness News
129	Thank you!
	https://twitter.com/ABC7Courts

Here are some short notes on the above:

25	Panish showing slide of drug Propofol. It says MJ was given the powerful anesthetic almost daily for six months [weeks]– – –Just a typo
38	Plaintiffs say the claimed Jacksons’ statements of damages, $40 billion, is attorneys calculation, not the assertion by Jackson family.– – – So the sum is not what the Jacksons calculated. This lie was spread by ASG to portray Katherine as greedy. They say that this sum is only a “notification to defendants as to their amount of exposure.” Okay.
42	Panish: there’s no dispute MJ went to various doctors for Demerol. He also had problems with sleep and sought Propofol.– – -And Arnold Klein said that Michael never asked for Demerol himself. NEVER. I hope he will tell them about it at the trial.
53	Panish in his opening: AEG had a problem. They were not number 1 in the concert business. Live Nation was. They wanted to catch up– – –Randy Phillips explained the AEG difference from Live Nation to Forbes:Randy Phillips: We are, at heart, a real estate company. StaplesCenter was a real estate play. We realized early on that we can’t have a third party like a Live Nation holding a gun to our head in terms of programming our buildings. That was the genesis of AEG Live, so that we could have control over the programming of our buildings.Forbes: Is that a driver for Live Nation going into the other areas, to build a future revenue stream?Randy Phillips: That’s what we use our festivals for in terms of promoting younger acts. This is a very hard industry to be a public company in. If you look at my margins with standalone programming, we’re a 6% to 8% business. If you combine it with real estate, it’s an 18% to 22% business. Forbes: At an investor conference in January, Live Nation announced that they lost about 4% on tickets, made about 15% of their revenues on ticket fees, about 40% on ancillaries, about 20% on sponsorships and about 20% on other areas. Does AEG Live have a similar revenue breakdown? Randy Phillips: We don’t lose money on anything. We’re a business. We’re not a publicly traded company; we’re not about press releases or manipulating the stock price. We’re about making money. http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/09/aeg-live-nation-ticketmaster-business-media-0209_aeg.htmlive

55	Panish: there was no risk to AEG, since the production (of the tour) would be secured by MJ’s assets, which included the Sony catalog – – – AT LAST we have the lawyers talking about it! So the lawyers also think that AEG could get the Sony catalog among Michael’s other assets!
61	Panish: evidence will show MJ requested a doctor… plus opiates. Paul Gongaware talked to Dr. Murray and closes the deal.– – -What an incredible way to “defend” Michael.
62	Panish showed a clip of Gongaware saying they didn’t investigate Dr. Murray and he had no supervision.– – -So they hired a doctor for Michael not giving a damn what kind of a quack he is. And Randy Phillips said that they checked him up. Phillips to Ortega: “His (MJ) doctor is extremely successful (we checked everyone out) and does not need this gig, he’s unbiased & ethical”
63	Panish showed the jury an email from Gongaware: “We want to remind him (Dr. Murray) that AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary”.– – -Just a reminder about who the boss is.
64	Email continues: “We want him (Dr. Murray) to understand what it’s expected of him.”– – -Another reminder to Murray that he should do as he is told.
94	Putnam: MJ fooled everybody. He made sure no one, nobody, knew his deepest dark secret.– – -This contradicts the above. If Michael spoke about his addiction himself and everyone knew how could it be his “dark secret”?
97	In 2007, Putnam says MJ approached AEG with the idea for a come back. But he decided he wasn’t ready. – – -What a blatant lie! Things were exactly the opposite:”In late November [2008], Randy Phillips, President and CEO of AEG Live, said that the company — which books and runs the O2 — has been chasing Jackson for two years looking for a multi-night engagement. Though no deal was signed at the time, Phillips said AEG has had a “standing offer” to Jackson since 2006 to re-create his landmark Thriller album in its entirety at the O2 but had struggled to nail down a firm deal with the elusive singer” http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606272/michael-jackson-expected-announce-london-concerts.jhtml
98	In 2008, MJ approached AEG again. He was now prepared to go forward, Putnam said, even though he hadn’t toured for about a decade.– – -I can’t believe it. They are saying that it was MJ who approached them again? Do they think that all of us suffer from amnesia?
99	Putnam described MJ’s lavish lifestyle and that he was spending more than he was making. By 2009 he was $400 million in debt– – -The money mostly went into paying lawyers in more than 1000 suits made against Michael during his lifetime.
109	Putnam: MJ expected AEG to assume the payment for Dr. Murray just like he did with everyone else.– – –Oh, so Michael wanted AEG to pay Murray! Just as we expected! This means that the point about Michael’s responsibility for paying to Murray in his contract could be added by AEG even after Michael’s death. Michael probably died never knowing that it was his responsibility to pay Murray.
113	Putnam went back to the addiction to painkillers issue again. He said MJ would get minor cosmetic or dental procedures and get the drugs– – -Let me also go over it again. Arnold Klein said on several occasions that Michael never asked for Demerol. As to the procedures – yes, they were very painful:Levin: … you prescribed Demerol numerous times…Klein: I never prescribed Demerol.Levin: You administered. Klein: I administered Demerol because you have to understand that the procedures I do are painful injections and I would give him…I would say I would take an hour-and-a-half to inject him and I would do somewhere around… oh, well over a hundred facial injections on him and unless I sedated him… He was very, believe it or not, needle-phobic when you got to needles on his face  ..It’s really a painful procedure, so, I mean, you had to stop him from squirming. Levin: Did he ever ask you for Demerol? Klein: No. (TMZ Live – November 5, 2009)
114	Putnam showed a slide called Doctor Shopping, where he identified 45 different doctors who treated MJ.– – -So what. Michael had a broken nose, acne, vitiligo, lupus, a head burn, had the skin on this head stretched to cover the baldness, had problems with his back when the bridge under him fell, had a disjoined hip as Murray said, and had problems with his sleep, and was determined to fight his 1993 Demerol addiction, all of which required medical attention.
118	Putnam: sometime in 1990s MJ began using Propofol. This was a big secret, so secret no one knew, not even his doctors.– – –Klein: I knew Michael had a problem with propofol. But let’s go way back, okay? He was under the hands of a plastic surgeon. Can we talk about which plastic surgeon? Will you say his name? (TMZ Live – November 5, 2009)
119	Putnam said a nurse named Debbie Rowe knew about it; saw doctor give MJ Propofol on tour. She wanted to make sure she was there & MJ woke up– – –Klein: There was one time when he was on tour and getting propofol, that I went on tour specifically myself. I stood guard over his room with my nurse and with two of my assistants, two bodyguards I brought with me, to make sure the doctor who was giving him propofol on that point of the tour, wouldn’t give it to him. (TMZ Live – November 5, 2009)
121	Putnam said that at night MJ would lock his bedroom’s door so no one had access to the room. He said it wasn’t for AEG to look into Murray– – -It was, if it were them who hired him and pay to him. Their own contract said that they would.
86	Putnam: we’re going to show you some ugly stuff. Why? AEG Live, Paul Gongaware, Randy Phillips were sued, it’s not going to be pretty– – -Well, at least now we know their style and the way they talked to Michael while no one was looking. A gentleman is always a gentleman – if he is a gentleman.

Well guys, it is only starting and we need to steel ourselves for what comes next.

The benefit of it is that now we at least know how nasty they could be to Michael Jackson when in private, and what it must have been like when Randy Phillips had several “arguments” with Michael and “screamed at him so loud the walls were shaking”.

I hope that by the end of the trial everyone will know how they treated the best performer in the world.

DAY 2

April 30, 2013

	ABC7 Court News April 30, 2013
1	Randy Jackson just arrived in the courthouse. He’s inside the courtroom with his mother.
2	Hallway is filled with reporters again. Everyone is lined up waiting to get in. Our reporter Miriam Hernandez is the number one in the list
3	Jurors are again at the end of the hallway. No one is allowed to interact with them. We can’t even say hello.
4	Katherine Jackson in hanging out in the cafeteria at the courthouse. She’s walking around the outside area with bodyguards and sheriff
5	No one seems to be bothering Katherine Jackson. Everyone giving her the space she needs.
6	There was last minute change in the order of the witnesses. First one was Richard Senneff, paramedic/firefighter who tried to resuscitate MJ
7	Senneff explained what a paramedic does and the different machines in a rescue ambulance which are related to trauma and cardiac arrest
8	Senneff detailed the coverage area of the LA city department, what areas they serve and difference between city and county of LA
9	Senneff: “You learn so much about the community” He said there are about 1100 paramedics in the city of LA, about 1050 are firefighters too
10	Katherine and Randy Jackson left the courtroom when Senneff began testifying. They didn’t want to hear/see what happened in the house
11	Senneff: I responded to a patient not breathing
12	Q: June 25, 2009, do you remember responding to a location with a potential fatality?
13	Senneff said he arrived at Jackson’s house at 12:25 pm PT and  got out of the ambulance with their equipment, EKG monitor, needles, meds
14	Senneff: I came in to that front door and saw what later I found out was Dr. Murray and a patient on the bed
15	Senneff: He was leaning over the patient, patient laying on the bed, dr Murray standing there and they were moving the patient to the floor
16	When I first walked in, I asked dr Murray is the patient had a DNR, Senneff recalled.. DNR= Don Not Ressuscitate
17	Senneff: I saw a patient wearing pajama pants and shirt, and some surgical cover over the head. He looked very pale, very weak.
18	Afternoon session about to start. More details soon.
19	Senneff: “To me he looked at the end stage”
20	Panish: How was the patient?
21	Senneff: “Patient looked underweight to me.” He also said he “appeared to be chronically ill.”
22	Senneff said he saw an IV pole and an IV bag on the pole, along with an oxygen tank. There were medicine bottles on the nightstand.
23	Panish showed pic with IV pole, IV bag and oxygen tank. Another picture showed bedside table with pill bottles, water bottle, juice bottle
24	Senneff said initially he was not able to identify the patient, but as it progressed someone said his name was Michael Jackson
25	Senneff: “Once someone said his name, I looked at the patient’s face and saw it was Michael Jackson.”
26	Back in session. More soon.
27	Senneff: “I asked what his underlying condition was…. the doctor said nothing, that he was just treating him for dehydration & exhaustion”
28	But Senneff said the patient did not look like one suffering from dehydration exhaustion, which are relatively mild conditions.
29	Senneff asked what kind of medication patient was taking. Sennef said that according to Dr. Murray, “he was not” (taking any medication)
30	Senneff said when he moved MJ, he felt he did not have a pulse. His pupils were fixed and dilated, eyes were quite dried
31	Senneff: “When I picked him up and moved him, he was cool to the touch. I would say less than an hour… Body doesn’t get cold that fast”
32	Senneff said MJ’s chest was pale white, his hands and feet turned blue from not getting enough ventilation/oxygen.
33	Senneff said he contacted UCLA hospital. He also said Dr. Murray then indicated he gave MJ a little bit of lorazepam to help him sleep
34	13:13 – hospital
35	13:07 – transported
36	12:25- on scene
37	12:23- rolling down the street
38	12:22p – dispatched
39	Timeline of paramedics’ response, PT
40	Court done for the day. Tomorrow it will be only one hour. A juror has a funeral to go to. Still on second witness, LAPD Orlando Martinez
41	Senneff: “I notified the hospital and was told to continue resuscitation efforts.”
42	Senneff: a paramedic was using the ambu bag to breath for the patient, another connecting the EKG machine and was giving him drugs
43	As for Dr. Murray, he was trying to help the best he could, Senneff said, and that the doctor “was looking for things in the box”
44	Senneff: “Dr Murray reached in our box, he gave additional injection of epinephrine”
45	Senneff: Dr Murray said he felt femoral artery pulse. However, Senneff said no one else, other than Dr. Murray, was able to find a pulse
46	Senneff: MJ’s condition hadn’t changed on the way to the hospital. “The hospital asked me about calling (time of death). Dr Murray said no.”
47	Senneff: Dr Murray had a white plastic bag in one hand. When I came to the door he froze, he was actually surprised to see me (in MJ’s room)
48	Senneff: Dr. Murray rode in the ambulance together. He was standing in the ambulance, holding the top rail, talking on the cell phone
49	Senneff said it was chaotic outside the house, very difficult to get out. People trying to take pix, unbelievable amount of commotion
50	Senneff said everybody was following the ambulance. He was shown a picture of MJ inside the ambulance and confirmed it was legit.
51	Upon arrival at UCLA, Senneff explained to the ER doctor what he had done, like a quick recap, no changes in patient’s status.
52	Senneff described a situation with a Russian woman at UCLA who passed out when she heard MJ had died. “I helped her out,” he said.
53	No one on your team detected pulse? No
54	Was he dead for a period of time? Yes
55	Defense atty Kathryn Cahan did Senneff’s cross examination:
56	Q: Did dr Murray lied to you?Senneff: I’m not even going there. I was worried about the patient and all the info I can get
57	Senneff said it is not unusual for family members, people around the patient not know whether they are taking drugs
58	Senneff said he let Dr. Murray go through his medical bag since what he was doing was reasonable.
59	Cahan went through the emergency medical service report again. It asks the weight of the patient, Senneff estimated 150lbs, 5’09-ish
60	Senneff answers 120 calls per month average. He said he got very good at estimating people’s weight.
61	He said nothing, nothing, I’m just treating him 4 dehydration, exhaustion.
62	When Senneff asked Dr. Murray about MJ’s underlying condition:
63	As to Propofol, Senneff said all he knew it was an anesthetic used in surgeries. He learned through the media that was MJ’s cause of death
64	Then it was back to Panish for re-direct. Senneff told the court he did not see Dr. Murray actually performing CPR.
65	Senneff said the American Heart Association indicates CPR is performed on a bed it’s less desirable. One must place patient on hard surface
66	Panish said Dr. Murray performed CPR with Michael Jackson on the bed:  “That’s not how you’re supposed to do it,” Senneff opined.
68	Panish: Did you think Dr. Murray was fit to perform CPR?Senneff: I did not believe he was
69	As to Dr. Murray, Senneff said: “I did not believe he was telling me the full story at the time.”
70	Panish: What did Michael Jackson tell you?Senneff: Nothing, sirPanish: Because he was dead when you arrived?Senneff: Yes, sir
71	Senneff agreed that it is expected that a competent, fit physician be able to revive a patient in respiratory arrest. No re-cross by defense
72	Second witness was LAPD Detective Orlando Martinez. He took the stand and explained his background and training he has had.
73	Martinez learned from his lieutenant that Michael Jackson was the victim. He went to UCLA to begin his investigation.
74	Panish: Did you see anyone at the hospital affiliated with AEG?Martinez: I saw Mr. DiLeo and Randy Phillips
75	Martinez said he also I saw Mrs. Jackson, Randy and the children but it was from a distance. He couldn’t characterize their demeanor
76	Panish: Were you able to speak with Dr. Murray at the UCLA?Martinez: NoPanish: Why not?Martinez: He had left
77	Martinez: We decided to fly him from UCLA to the Coroner’s office to avoid repeat from messes we had before
78	Panish showed Martinez photos Martinez took at the house. Martinez didn’t search Dr. Murray’s vehicle because he wanted a search warrant
79	Martinez didn’t leave Dr. Murray’s car at the residence, wanted a reason for the doc to go talk to him. Car was impounded to a police yard
80	Seeing pix of MJ’s room, Martinez said he saw IV bag, pill bottles, vials, ambu bag. “It looked like the room had been cleaned up,” he said.
81	Martinez: “Things had been removed from the room prior to police’s arrival.” He took several pictures to document the scene
82	Martinez said at that time the investigation was leading to natural or accidental death, no real signs of foul play, but it was odd.
83	Martinez says he learned from Dr. Murray that there were 3 bags total of medicine in the closet. He went back to the house to retrieve them.
84	Panish showed pictures of the cabinet w/ the bags inside. Martinez described what was inside the bags: several vials of Propofol, drugs
85	Martinez took fingerprints off the bags and found Dr. Murray’s prints on the bottles. Panish showed picture of lidocaine and oximeter
86	Another pix shows empty Propofol bottle and empty saline bag with a slit on it. Martinez said Dr. Murray was the 1 who sliced the saline bag
87	Next picture: Eye drops, bottles of Propofol, lidocaine, benoquin, caffeine/ephedrine energy pills and business card of Dr. Murray
88	Next picture: 4 bottles of Propofol, one bottle of Lorazepam, one bottle of Midazolam, 2 bottles of Flumazenil.
89	Another picture shows inside the security trailer with several oxygen tanks. Next picture: MJ’s closet with his clothes hung
90	Martinez: BMW was registered to Susan Rush, Texas address. It was registered to her name, but it was her brother’s car, Dr. Conrad Murray
91	Dr. Murray was living in Santa Monica and in Las Vegas. “He stayed in Santa Monica with his girlfriend/mistress,” Martinez said.
92	Katherine and Randy Jackson never went back to the courtroom in the afternoon. Rebbie was also at the courthouse with her mother.
93	Search of Dr. Murray’s vehicle was conducted at the official police garage in West L.A. Martinez said he found 3 items he thought important
94	In Murray’s car: handwriten note with 24 hour pharmacies names/numbers; Randy Phillips’ business card; contract between Dr. Murray and AEG
95	Martinez had already interviewed Dr. Murray prior to the car’s search. He attempted to interview him again, but doc wasn’t talking anymore
96	Martinez said he was looking for a motive for MJ’s death, and the contract could be important financial aspect to investigate.
97	When Martinez interviewed Dr. Murray, along with two of his attorneys: “he was not being honest and forthright”
98	When he Martinez interviewed Dr. Murray, along with two of his attorneys, Martinez thought “he was not being honest and forthright”
99	Martinez said he needed to investigate if case was for Dr. Murray’s own financial gain. Martinez ran the doctor’s name in computer databases
100	Martinez said Dr. Murray has 8 children by 7 women. He classified Dr. Murray’s financial condition in May/June 09 as “severely distressed”
101	Martinez checked Dr. Murray’s credit report. “There was a notice up that his house was either on a lien or being foreclosed on.”
102	Panish showed a document from a title company that said Dr. Murray owed $ 1,644,644.25 for the loan of his house (unpaid principal balance)
103	As of January 2009, Dr. Murray had not been paying his mortgage and was behind $ 15,165.11. Late charges accruing at rate of $3,477.95
104	Panish: Is there any question in your mind that Dr. Murray was in dire financial straits?Martinez: No, no question
105	Panish displayed to the jury several documents showing Dr. Murray had many liens and owed lots of money in child support in various counties
106	Trial session ended at this point. Panish to resume questioning Det. Martinez tomorrow. It’ll be 1 hour session, since a juror has a funeral
107	Defense made a motion to exclude Randy Jackson from the courtroom, since he’s on the witness list. Panish said he’s here w/ mom. Judge okay
108	More to come tomorrow. You can follow our coverage on @ABC7 Eyewitness News as well and http://www.abc7.com . Good night everyone.

So the very first check of the database showed all Murray’s problems.
Why didn’t AEG do the same?
Or probably they did and liked what they saw? After all Randy Phillips said that “they checked everyone out” and told Kenny Ortega not to worry?

And after that AEG speaks of Michael’s “dark secrets”?
And what about theirs?

*  *  *

I said it too soon about the LA Times – now they have also stepped on the slippery road of biased reporting. First a certain “fan” said to them that the case “is not about justice but about who is going to make money” and now they happily report these words in all their latest articles.

Never knew that the dubious opinion of some “fans” was so valuable to the LA Times that they would make so much fuss over it.  This makes me feel proud that I am no “fan” but a Michael Jackson supporter.

DAY 3

May 1, 2013

ABC7 Court News tweets:

1	Hello from the courthouse in downtown LA. As we said yesterday, today we only had one hour of testimony. A juror is going to a funeral
2	LAPD Detective Orlando Martinez took the stand again. He arrived at the courthouse sporting a cowboy hat.
3	Martinez went through docs he obtained while investigating Dr. Murray’s finances; some were obtained with subpoena, others public record
4	Attorneys argued about the docs they want to admit as evidence. Defense objected to a bunch of docs, saying they weren’t  authenticated
5	After several minutes of discussions, Judge Palazuelos said to put the exhibits/evidence issues aside; she wanted better use of jurors’ time
6	Income and Expense Declaration filed with San Diego Court shows  Dr. Murray’s net month disposable income was negative $2,706.33 in July/09
7	Panish asked Martinez about 5 day notice to pay rent or quit — Dr. Murray owed $7,058.38 in business rent, had evicted note and tax liens
8	Panish: What’s the relevance of Dr. Murray having delinquent taxes?
9	Martinez: shows more evidence of him being in financial dire straits
10	Panish listed several other docs showing Dr. Murray’s liens, unpaid bills in an effort to show the jury the doctor was in financial distress
11	Panish: did you check Dr. Murray’s credit?
12	Martinez: yes, by serving grand jury subpoena on experian, equifax and transunion
13	P: It’s not like you need FBI/CIA clearance?
14	M: Correct
15	Panish: This could easily be done in 09?
16	Martinez: I know different ways of doing it
17	Panish is trying to show the jury that a simple background check on Dr. Murray would show AEG that the doc was in deep financial troubles.
18	Student loans, credit cards, credit medical companies, cell phone companies, funding companies, there were all kinds of debts, Panish said.
19	The credit report shows Dr. Murray was current in some of his accounts. Panish noted doc he was paying some debts but defaulted in his home
20	Panish: Further corroborate you opinion Murray was is dire financial straits in May/June of 2009?
21	Martinez: Yes
22	Panish going through official court documents showing Dr. Murray had several judgments against him and his medical businesses.
23	Orlando obtained docs from state licensing medical boards regarding Dr. Murray to check his status and if he had any disciplinary actions
24	Martinez obtained subpoena of Dr. Murray’s phone records, incoming and outgoing calls, towers used, duration. He focused on June 24-25
25	Martinez: for criminal liability that 12 hours of care, from when he arrived at the house until he called 911, was pertinent
26	Martinez: 11:26 am– received phone call, possibly Michael Amir Williams
27	1:08 pm — made call to Nicole Alvarez while in the ambulance
28	Call was a bit over 2 minutes (133 seconds). Martinez did not know for sure what they were talking about, questioned Alvarez about it
29	A search in Dr. Murray’s apt in Santa Monica, where doc said he lived with Alvarez, Martinez said he didn’t find any of Murray’s belongings
30	Martinez: He was living there and none of his stuff was there. That statement wrapped up today’s session. Martinez on the stand tomorrow
31	Panish: I’m asking for stipulation that MJ’s dead. Are you willing to stipulate MJ is dead?
32	Putnam: Absolutely
33	Outside the presence of jury:
34	AEG agreed to stipulate Michael Jackson is dead, but need to think about stipulating that Dr. Murray is the cause of his death.
35	Defendants’ attorney asked judge to take some witnesses out of order, since they have to travel for work. Plaintiffs added more witnesses 2
36	Trial resumes tomorrow morning with Det. Martinez. Dr. Christopher Rogers, from the Coroner’s office, set to testify next.
37	Trial will not be in session on Friday. For all the latest watch @ABC7 Eyewitness News 4, 5, 6 and 11pm PT and http://www.abc7.com

Here is the LA Times’s account of what the paramedic saw and what lies he heard from Murray. He found him unfit to make even a CPR:

Michael Jackson on deathbed looked like cancer patient, witness says

By Corina Knoll and Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times

April 30, 2013, 9:36 p.m.

Pale and emaciated, Michael Jackson lay on his bed in his $100,000-a-month Holmby Hills mansion looking like an end-stage cancer patient who had come home to die.

The scene inside the house where Jackson lived as he prepared for a comeback tour was described Tuesday in stark detail by Richard Senneff, the lead-off witness in a wrongful-death case brought by the pop legend’s mother and three children against entertainment firm AEG.

Stacked around Jackson that day in June 2009 were oxygen tanks, an intravenous drip and an emergency breathing aid, the Los Angeles City Fire Department paramedic testified. The singer’s ribs were visible on his thin body, his eyes were dilated and dry, his lips were a faint blue and an IV was attached on the inside of his lower left calf.

“He looked like someone who was at the end stage of a long disease,” Senneff testified.

Senneff said he asked Dr. Conrad Murray, who was standing nearby, if Jackson had a “do not resuscitate” order.

“Dr. Murray looked at me blankly at first,” Senneff said, answering questions from Brian Panish, the Jackson family’s attorney. Then the doctor said, “No, no, this just happened.”

Senneff said he could not find a pulse and concluded that the pop star had been dead for as long as an hour.

“It didn’t make sense that it had just happened,” Senneff testified.

The testimony appeared aimed at convincing jurors that Murray was in over his head in treating Jackson and unfit to take even basic lifesaving steps such as CPR to save his famous client’s life.

The wrongful-death suit, which is playing out in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, contends that Murray was a hired hand for AEG and under firm orders to make sure Jackson pulled off the upcoming “This Is It” concerts no matter what.

Panish said outside the courtroom that Murray’s desperate need to pull himself out of a financial hole conflicted with his care for his patient. If Jackson did not perform his 50 comeback concerts scheduled at the O2 Arena in London, Panish said, the doctor would not receive the $150,000 a month outlined in his contract with AEG.

AEG’s attorneys have countered that it was Jackson who wanted to perform again to help erase his own massive debt and who insisted on using Murray, who had treated him the previous three years. And the contract, lawyers for the entertainment firm said, was never signed by AEG or Jackson.

Much of Senneff’s testimony echoed what he said during Murray’s 2011 criminal trial, in which the doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering the fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to Jackson. Murray is completing a jail sentence in that case.

On Tuesday, Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and brother Randy left the courtroom before the paramedic testified about the details of the entertainer’s death.

Senneff testified that Murray, who was sweating and appeared frantic on the day in question, said he was treating Jackson for dehydration and exhaustion and that the singer was not taking medication.

After moving Jackson to a gurney downstairs, Senneff returned to the singer’s bedroom to retrieve his medical equipment and bumped into Murray. He said the physician looked like “a deer in the headlights.”

“When I came through the door, he froze and he was obviously surprised to see someone come in,” Senneff said. He said Murray, who had identified himself as Jackson’s cardiologist, had a white plastic bag in his hand and was picking something up, although Senneff couldn’t make it out.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jackson-aeg-20130501,0,7876868.story

Our author Lynette is breaking down for us the medical side of the story. She explains that Murray’s idea about Michael’s own stash of propofol is a lie as he could not buy it himself (you require documentation for it) and that the reason for Michael’s loss of weight was the instruction from Murray not to eat for 8 hours before anesthesia.

This is the best explanation I’ve ever heard as doctors indeed warn against eating before anesthesia. Well, if AEG did not care about Michael’s loss of weight themselves, they could have at least checked on Murray’s activities, especially since they were to check how well he was fulfilling their instructions anyway:

• I think there is a serious misunderstanding in the fan community as a whole that Michael had a responsibility to not ask for the Propofol. Well I have to respectfully disagree because Michael was the patient and Murray was the doctor. He had the control of the entire situation because he not only administered it he procured it in order to administer it. Michael could not order it for himself because you need a DEA number to order any drug from a pharmacy.

• It was and always will be up to the professional not to do something that will harm the patient and Murray knew what he was doing. Murray did not tell the truth to a single person in this situation, what makes you think he told Michael the truth? One thing none of you know is the difference between how a patient views a nurse and how they view a doctor. The nurse can educate you and tell you that something is not a good idea but if the doctor comes along and says it will be okay the patient will always believe the doctor simply because they are the doctor. I doubt if Michael was any different than anyone else in that regard.

• I will say that I thought it was not possible for Murray to have been doing this every night for 60 nights but it seems that he did. Whether or not there was only the one that I believe was a near miss we will never know for sure. But doing what he was doing as often as he was doing it, it was just a matter of pure luck that Michael did not die 3 weeks or more before he did. The difference that I believe happened that night has to do with Murray’s arrogance. He had been doing it for a while with no bad outcome, just a close call or two, and he just plain got sloppy.

• Michael was losing weight because he was doing what he was told by Murray I am sure. Before you administer an anesthesia to someone you have to be NPO (nothing by mouth) for at least eight hours prior to the administration of the anesthesia except of course in the matter of an emergency. This is to prevent the possibility of the deadliest of possible side effects of an anesthesia and that is nausea. If you become nauseated and vomit while sedated you will aspirate that vomit into your lungs and die from the aspiration. That is why Michael was losing so much weight. The weight loss was not a side effect of the medication per say, it was a side effect of listening to his doctor’s instructions so the medication could be administered.

• Paramedic Seneff said that Michael looked like an end stage hospice patient. He did not tell you that the blue lips, feet and hands (mottling) show more than anything else that Murray started that drip and walked away for hours. Michael was also given massive amounts of benzodiazepines (the benzodiazepine effect stated in the coroner’s report). They had started to peak during the time that Murray started the drip and left the room. That slowed Michael’s respirations to the point that he was not oxygenated enough for the oxygen to reach his extremities even while his blood was still circulating. This probably went on as long as an hour if not more before he fell into a deeper state of sedation from the Propofol and went into respiratory arrest. So Murray wasn’t even sitting by the bedside counting his respirations. Michael could not possibly have awakened to give himself anything because his brain, deprived of oxygen, shut down long before the Propofol shut it off.

• In other words he was in a coma and probably brain dead long before Murray ever reentered that room that morning.

So Michael must have died sometime around 11 o’clock or earlier. Just imagine that what is called “extremeties” now were the feet dancing only 12 hours before that.

The second testimony came from Detective Orlando Martinez:

Jackson-AEG trial: Detective saw money as motive in singer’s death

By Jeff Gottlieb

April 30, 2013, 7:44 p.m.

When he began investigating Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, Los Angeles Police Det. Orlando Martinez at first concluded that the cause was accidental or natural.

But when the detective discovered the deep financial straits of Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, he shifted his thinking and pondered whether he had discovered a motive for the pop star’s death — “financial gain.”

Martinez was the second witness called Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit that Jackson’s mother and three children filed against Anschutz Entertainment Group, accusing the entertainment giant of negligently hiring and supervising Murray.

AEG says it was Jackson who employed Murray, and that the $150,000 a month the company was supposed to pay the doctor was an advance to the singer, much like the money it had loaned him to pay for his Holmby Hills mansion and production costs for the upcoming “This Is It” concert series in London.

On the witness stand, Martinez said that he learned that Murray’s Las Vegas home, on which he owed more than $1.6 million, was worth just a little more than $1 million and was in foreclosure.

The doctor owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens, child support and other debts, and he had closed his office to work with one patient — Jackson, tying his financial future to him, Martinez said.

Martinez said Murray’s deep financial distress led him to believe “that he may for this easy money, the $150,000, he may break the rules, bend the rules to do whatever he needed to get paid. It might solve his money problems.”

The detective said that when he interviewed Murray with two attorneys present, the doctor made up a story to protect himself.

 “He was not being honest and forthright,” Martinez testified.

Martinez’s testimony was part of the Jackson family’s lawyers’ strategy to show that Murray was more concerned with getting himself out of his financial hole than caring for his patient, and that AEG should have checked him out.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for giving Jackson a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to help him sleep. He is completing a jail sentence.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jackson-death-20130430,0,826715.story

Since the gravity of Conrad Murray’s financial problems is no surprise to us let me focus on another point.

Who was to pay Conrad Murray after all?

From Marvin Putnam we have already heard that Michael expected AEG to pay for the doctor, and the confirmation that the expenses on Murray were indeed AEG’s obligation is found in Randall Sullivan’s book. His source Tohme, attempting to paint Michael as too self-important,  recklessly blurted out the truth – the expenses on Murray were AEG’s responsibility and it was after a long, long argument that the poor company had to agree to the impossible demands.

Here is an excerpt from the book and please do not allow this “self-importance” bias to distract you from the fact that it was AEG’s responsibility to pay for the doctor:

“Of all the demands that Michael Jackson made during the negotiation of the contract for the O2 shows, his requirement that AEG pay for the services of a “ personal physician” had been the one that Randy Phillips and the company attorneys resisted most vigorously. Jackson’s refusal to compromise on this point suggested that his sense of self-importance had made a comeback every bit as extraordinary as the one Randy Phillips hoped to see onstage at the O2.

“ Look,” Michael told Phillips, “ my body is the mechanism that fuels this entire business. Just like President Obama, I need my own doctor attending to me twentyfour/seven.”

Paul Gongaware remembered Jackson pointing to himself and saying, “This is the machine. You have to take care of the machine.”

Frank Dileo pointed out to Phillips and Gongaware that hiring a personal physician might be a good way to separate Michael from Arnold Klein, whom all three men believed to be Jackson’s primary drug supplier. AEG agreed to pay for a private physician, even yielding to Michael’s demand that he alone be permitted to pick the MD who would live with him.”

So AEG agreed to pay to the doctor, supply him with the equipment necessary for taking care of Jackson and provide an assistant to him, but in return they demanded that he should perform the services requested of him by the Producer and not Michael Jackson? This sounds logical and even fair as the one who pays is ordering the music too.

And the music they did order  – AEG gave Murray various tasks, like making Jackson attend every rehearsal, taking care of the insurance and not paying attention to hysterical guys like Ortega, etc.

But  the equipment they did not provide and the payment they did not make.

Yes, going into a deal with AEG Live is like playing football on a field with one gate only.

The point about Michael Jackson having to pay to Murray was most probably added at the last minute

But the worst insult of it is that after two months of playing games with Murray and Jackson, AEG added a point to Murray’s contract which shifted all medical expenses onto Michael Jackson’s shoulders.

It wasn’t enough for them to have all production expenses to be paid by Jackson – they decided to add the doctor as well though their previous agreement was a different one.

Poor Michael died evidently never knowing that he was to pay for Murray as well…