Judge pushes start of Conrad Murray's trial back to May.
By Gil Kaufman
Conrad Murray
Photo: AFP/ Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Though Conrad Murray's lawyers had been pressing for a speedy trial, a judge in the involuntary manslaughter case against Michael Jackson's doctor ruled on Wednesday to delay opening statements in the proceedings until May.
The Associated Press reported that Murray's attorneys consented to the postponement after they discussed the matter with prosecutors and both agreed they could be ready for trial by May 9.
According to a transcript from the closed-door session, though opening statements will not begin for several months, Murray told Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor that he did not want to forfeit his right to a quick trial, but agreed to the delay if screening of prospective jurors begins as scheduled on March 24.
"It is only acceptable to me if this is not strung along over a long period of time," Murray told the justice. "I don't want to lose my constitutional right to speedy trial." Murray — who has pleaded not guilty to the charges — reportedly has been in favor of having the proceedings begin as soon as possible because he is facing financial troubles, but he said he understands that the delay is necessary to allow both sides to prepare for the trial.
Pastor consented because he said he didn't want to lose a jury pool, and believed a month-long delay might let potential jurors shuffle their schedules for the case, which could take up to two months to decide. The judge has reportedly clashed with Murray's defense team in recent weeks, pressing them for answers about why they had not turned over more witness notes and other potential evidence to prosecutors in the run-up to the trial.
Cardiologist Murray was hired to be Jackson's personal physician while the King of Pop prepared for his planned 50-date comeback series of shows at London's O2 arena in the summer of 2009. The doctor told police that he provided the then-50-year-old Jackson with sedatives and the surgical anesthetic propofol in order to combat the singer's chronic insomnia. He said he did so on the morning of June 25, 2009, when Jackson died of what a coroner deemed acute propofol poisoning.
Murray's lawyers reportedly plan to argue that Jackson was already in weak health before he died, that it's unfair to blame propofol for his passing and that, if the anesthetic was to blame, the pop superstar may have given himself the fatal dose by drinking the drug in a panic.
A status hearing in the case has been set for this Wednesday.
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Singer says her collaboration with Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj made a 'supergroup of three hot, strong women.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias
Earlier this week, Britney Spears, Ke$ha and Nicki Minaj dropped their femme-fatale-friendly remix of the Spears club track "Till the World Ends." The already fun song got super-charged thanks to Minaj's cutting verses and Ke$ha's recognizable vocals.
"I'm a massive fan of both the ladies I share the track with," K told MTV News on Wednesday at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards. "I wrote 'TTWE' for Britney with [producers] Dr. Luke and Max [Martin] and she killed it and I loved it, but I just thought a supergroup of three hot, strong women could just take over the airwaves."
Ke$ha went on to give props to both the ladies. "I'm such a massive fan of Britney and I'm such a massive supporter of Nicki and a fan, and chicks sometimes don't team up. I don't know why, but I'm, like, huge on the girl power, so I just wanted to make a power girl track take over."
The remix quickly won praise from fans who seem to think the new features step up the song's game. "You know, with the three of us, I wasn't necessarily surprised [people like it] because I'm such a massive fan of Nicki Minaj and obviously with Britney I'm a fan of it, [taking] myself out of the equation," she said. "I'm just happy people like it."
So did Ke$ha (who once sang backup for Spears) feel any pressure writing a song for Britney? "There was no pressure. Writing for somebody else is really fun 'cause I consider myself a songwriter first and foremost," she explained. "So it was so much fun to put my brain in the sexy Britney Spears brain and express myself almost as if I were possessed by her."
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'Water for Elephants' helmer Francis Lawrence opens up about shooting the diva's video.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Francis Lawrence confirmed to MTV News at the "Water for Elephants" premiere on Sunday that he had just wrapped up work on Beyoncé's new video. And the director promised that this clip will live up to the expectations that have been building since photos from the set began leaking.
"I just shot a Beyoncé video at the beginning of this last week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, which was fun, and I hadn't done a video since 2009," he said, referring to the VMA-winning video for Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance."
Lawrence went on to confirm a few more details about the song, without giving away too much of anything, per B's orders. "The video's for the songs 'Girls'; it's off her new album," he said. "She would probably have me shot if I said anything. ... Some stuff spilled out, but she wasn't happy about it, so I've been sworn to secrecy."
What spilled was some looks from the video, as well as details that there will be lots of dancing in the clip. "It'll be big, it'll probably be one of the bigger Beyoncé music videos ever done," he added. "And, I can say that I think the song is unbelievable."
The director noted that artists have definitely stepped up their video game in recent years and once again made visuals a vital part of their work. He gives some credit for that to Lady Gaga, as well as a number of Lawrence's past collaborators, like Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and the Black Eyed Peas.
"The Gaga thing took me by surprise, 'cause I've done videos for probably 15 years, and I had forgotten what it felt like to have a video premiere and have it be anticipated and have it explode," he explained. "And yeah I hope the same for Beyoncé, but I don't know if that's gonna happen. It is a fantastic song, so I really hope that song catches for her, and I think the video's gonna be really fun and cool and different for her."
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