The trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor will be televised

The magistrate also preceded by four days the beginning of the trial. At the request of Dr. Murray, the judge announced last month that his trial would begin March 28, but the procedures for jury selection would begin on March 24. This step will not however be captured by television cameras.

American viewers can follow Murray’s legal woes in the first week of April, when prosecutors and defense lawyers begin to lay down their plea.

The 57-year-old cardiologist was not present at the brief hearing. His lawyers told the judge that their client was attending his medical practice in Las Vegas and Houston.

After hearing testimony from twenty experts and members of the entourage of the King of Pop at the preliminary hearing last month, Judge Michael Pastor said that the evidence was sufficient to subject Conrad Murray to a trial by jury, in addition to revoking his license to practice medicine in California until the end of the judicial proceedings.

According to several experts, Murray’s lawyers will argue in court that the singer administered propofol to himself on the morning of his death. Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009 at the age of 50, following a drug overdose that included propofol, a powerful anesthetic normally used in hospitals.

On 25 January, during the reading of the indictment, Conrad Murray pleaded not guilty: “Your honor, I am an innocent man,” he told the judge.

Conrad Murray has claimed his innocence since the death of the singer and argues that he had administered propofol to the continuing demand of Michael Jackson to help him sleep. If convicted, Dr. Conrad Murray could face a maximum sentence of four years.

His trial is expected to last about six weeks.