Unseen rehearsal video during the trial in September ;-)
mac5k
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Judge hints jurors may see raw video of Michael Jackson's last days
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Raw video of Michael Jackson's last days is not covered by laws protecting journalists from court subpoenas, making it likely that Sony will have to let lawyers use its video in their defense of Dr. Conrad Murray, a judge said Thursday.
Lawyers for Murray, who faces trial for involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death, argued that the unseen rehearsal video could show that Jackson was ill and physically weak.
Prosecutors contend that Jackson died from an overdose of a surgical anesthetic that Murray gave him to induce sleep.
Sony Pictures, which bought the video from Jackson's estate, is fighting the subpoena from Murray's lawyers for access to about 100 hours of video that was used to produce the "This Is It" documentary, released several months after the singer's June 25, 2009, death.
The judge has given the prosecution permission to show clips from the movie to jurors during the trial, which is scheduled to start in September, but the defense wants to use video left on the cutting room floor.
Since Sony was under a contractual obligation with the estate to not use anything that showed Jackson in "a negative light," the unused video may be helpful to the defense, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said.
The judge gave Sony a week to work out technical details with the defense for a way they can view the raw video without the risk of it leaking.
Sony's lawyer said the public release of the raw video could hurt the studio's plans to use it in other productions, such as an anniversary edition of the documentary.
"If they become part of the public record as an exhibit, we have a whole different problem," Sony attorney Gary Bostwick said. "That would immediately become viral on TMZ or some other website."
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/06/16/california.conrad.murray.video/
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Raw video of Michael Jackson's last days is not covered by laws protecting journalists from court subpoenas, making it likely that Sony will have to let lawyers use its video in their defense of Dr. Conrad Murray, a judge said Thursday.
Lawyers for Murray, who faces trial for involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death, argued that the unseen rehearsal video could show that Jackson was ill and physically weak.
Prosecutors contend that Jackson died from an overdose of a surgical anesthetic that Murray gave him to induce sleep.
Sony Pictures, which bought the video from Jackson's estate, is fighting the subpoena from Murray's lawyers for access to about 100 hours of video that was used to produce the "This Is It" documentary, released several months after the singer's June 25, 2009, death.
The judge has given the prosecution permission to show clips from the movie to jurors during the trial, which is scheduled to start in September, but the defense wants to use video left on the cutting room floor.
Since Sony was under a contractual obligation with the estate to not use anything that showed Jackson in "a negative light," the unused video may be helpful to the defense, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said.
The judge gave Sony a week to work out technical details with the defense for a way they can view the raw video without the risk of it leaking.
Sony's lawyer said the public release of the raw video could hurt the studio's plans to use it in other productions, such as an anniversary edition of the documentary.
"If they become part of the public record as an exhibit, we have a whole different problem," Sony attorney Gary Bostwick said. "That would immediately become viral on TMZ or some other website."
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/06/16/california.conrad.murray.video/
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