Jacksons vs AEG - Day 35 – June 21 2013 – Summary
Katherine Jackson is not in court.
Dr. Czeisler Testimony
Jackson direct
He told the jury he had been working on reviewing the records since January for 1/2 day every week. (ABC7)
The expert testified that his review of Jackson's medical records convinced him that the singer suffered a chronic sleep disorder that "was greatly exaggerated" while he was on tour or preparing for a tour.(CNN)
Czeisler said that Jackson's insomnia was not disabling most times, but was exacerbated when he was on tour or preparing for one. “The key issue in this case is that his insomnia, his sleep disorder was greatly exacerbated when he was on tour," he said. "It was rather mild when he was not in tour mode or tour preparation mode. It was disabling to him when he was on tour or preparing to tour.” (LATimes)
Dr. Charles Czeisler, who has both an MD and a PhD, testified that propofol brings on "a drug-induced coma" that is far different from sleep. Not only does it not satisfy the body's need for sleep, it dissipates the sleep drive, "leading to a massive sleep deficiency." "That is what I believe happened in the case of Mr. Jackson," Czeisler testified. (LATimes)
A lawyer for Katherine Jackson summarized the evidence used to form the basis for Czeisler's opinion in a 17-minute, 1,833 word question that caused the trial to grind to a halt on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Michael Koskoff's inquiry was posed as a hypothetical question to Czeisler that included a summary of testimony, passages of emails shown to jurors and other evidence presented during trial. A judge said the question contained details that are inadmissible in the trial and misstated several other details. Superior Court Yvette Palazuelos opted not to strike the question from the record but allowed Koskoff to clarify it. That process took another 19 minutes on Friday. Attorneys spent roughly an hour arguing over the structure of the lengthy question, leaving jurors waiting for nearly 30 minutes on Friday. Czeisler earned more than $250 listening to the initial question, and more than $300 listening to Koskoff clarify it. (AP)
Jackson lawyers revised the question Friday morning after AEG Live lawyers objected to the information about Murray's nightly propofol treatments, since it was derived only from the doctor's statement to police after Jackson's death. The judge previously ruled that statement inadmissible. (CNN)
Instead, they brought up evidence that Murray ordered more than four gallons of propofol between April and June, which Czeisler said equaled 155,000 milliliters of the drug. An anesthesiologist uses between 20 and 30 milliliters to induce a coma for surgery, he said. (CNN) Dr. Czeisler testified that Dr. Conrad Murray had ordered over 4 gallons of Propofol during April, May, and June. He further stated that a common dose for surgery was 20 to 30 cc's. In Dr. Czeisler's opinion the autopsy shows MJ's level of propofol to be that of a person going through major abdominal surgery. (ABC7)
Czeisler testified that in April, May and June 2009, Murray ordered more than four gallons of propofol. "It's a stupendous amount," he said. The sleep expert testified that according to the toxicology report, the amount of propofol in Jackson's system was what you would expect of a patient undergoing major abdominal surgery. (LATimes)
In reviewing correspondences between members of the crew, the Doctor believes MJ is showing signs of chronic sleep deprivation. Those symptoms include weight loss, confusion, memory difficulties, paranoia, and anxiety. (ABC7)
Michael Jackson's inability to learn new dance moves and remember the lyrics to his songs were symptoms that the singer was totally sleep deprived by the time of his death, a sleep expert told a jury Friday. Charles Czeisler said reports by workers on Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts that the entertainer was losing weight, exhibiting signs of paranoia and his condition seemed to be deteriorating were consistent with someone who hadn't gotten any real sleep in a long time. The sleep deprivation was likely caused by Jackson's use of the anesthetic propofol, which Czeisler said would put the singer in a drug-induced coma and not meet his body's need for actual sleep. Studies showed that similar levels of sleep deprivation resulted in the deaths of laboratory animals and would likely cause the death of a human, he said. Czeisler relied heavily on summaries of testimony provided by a plaintiff's lawyer and emails from choreographers and others working on Jackson's "This Is It" tour to form his opinion. The testimony detailed Jackson's missed rehearsals and reports that he was picking up dance moves slowly, as well as that he requested a teleprompter to display lyrics to his songs. "The meticulous detailing of his deterioration here was both profound and sad," Czeisler said. (AP)
He said that the symptoms Jackson exhibited, laid out in emails and testimony from people watching him during rehearsals for the 50 concerts scheduled for London were "consistent with what you might expect to see in someone suffering from total sleep deprivation over a chronic period of time." He said the emails provided more detail than those kept by scientists during their observations. "The meticulous detail of his deterioration was both profound and sad,” Czeisler said. Those symptoms included loss of weight, paranoia, anxiety, difficulty with balance, difficulty regulating his body temperature and asking for a teleprompter for lyrics to songs he had been singing for years. The doctor said the fact Jackson asked for the teleprompter "was shocking and indicated to me the profound impact this sleep deprivation was having on his memory.” Asked by Michael Koskoff, an attorney for the Jacksons, what had caused the problems, Czeisler replied, "No. I believe Mr. Jackson had a sleep disorder and it was a chronic sleep disorder." (LATimes)
He said it was astounding that MJ couldn't remember the words to his own songs. (ABC7)
Dr. Czeisler said he was also astounded that Jackson couldn’t sing his own songs without the help of a Teleprompter. “The most successful performer of all time had to read the words to his own songs, shocking, and indicates to me the profound impact that this sleep deprivation was having on his memory,” testified the doctor. (CBSLA)
Total sleep deprivation can kill a lab rat in 80 days and he said he doesn't know and hopes to never know how long in a human. (ABC7)
Propofol disrupts the normal sleep cycle and offers no REM sleep, yet it leaves a patient feeling refreshed as if they had experienced genuine sleep, according to Czeisler. If the singer had not died on June 25, 2009, of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic, the lack of REM sleep may have taken his life within days anyway, according Czeisler's testimony Friday. Lab rats die after five weeks of getting no REM sleep, he said. It was never tried on a human until Murray gave Jackson nightly propofol infusions for two months. Translating that to a human, Czeisler estimated, Jackson would have died before his 80th day of propofol infusions. Murray told police he had given it to him for 60 nights before trying to wean him off it on June 22, 2009 -- three days before his death. (CNN)
In his opinion, if he had been properly diagnosed for his sleep disorder, it would not have interfered with his tour or many in the future (ABc7)
Finally, Dr. Murray clearly was not fit or competent to diagnose or treat MJ’s sleep disorder. (ABc7) He said that Murray, an internist and cardiologist, "was clearly not competent to diagnose or treat Mr. Jackson’s sleep disorder.” (LAtimes)
AEG cross
On cross-examination by AEG defense attorney Kathryn Cahan, the researcher acknowledged that he hadn't reviewed actual testimony from the case, including statements from AEG executives that they thought the singer appeared fine and had stellar rehearsals before his death. Czeisler, who is being paid $950 an hour for his work on the case, said he reached his opinion after reviewing deposition transcripts, medical records and other evidence shown to jurors. (AP)
He testified MJ's Doctor had a conversation with MJ about the stress of tour. In that conversation they talked about his problems sleeping (ABC7)
On cross examination, Dr. Czeisler acknowledged that the evidence showed two doctors tried to convince Jackson to seek a medical specialist for his sleep disorder and he refused.(CBSLA)
The Doctor also said no one could make MJ get treatment - not his children or his business partners. (ABC7)
The Doctor said the relationship between anesthesia and sleep is a new area of study. Much info has come out since MJ died. (ABC7)
Each of the symptoms MJ was experiencing - weight loss, paranoia, memory lapse, etc can all be caused by something other than no sleep (ABC7)
AEG Attorney Questioned Dr.Czeisler that he did not know exactly how often or what manner MJ was given propofol in the last 2 months of life. Dr. Czeisler conceded that the only night he knows MJ was given propofol was June 24th, 2009. He died the next day. (ABC7)
AEG Attorney asked the Dr. what was the cause of death on the autopsy report and it was propofol intoxication...not sleep deprivation. Dr. Czeisler did however interject after the AEG Lawyer finished questions that in an NTSB investigation there are contributing factors (ABC7)
Dr. Czeisler believes that a fit and competent Doctor would have gotten MJ help and he would have made it through the tour (ABC7) The extreme nature of Jackson's sleep deprivation would have shortened the singer's life unless he received appropriate treatment, Czeisler said. With proper treatment, Jackson could have continued to tour and perform for many years, he testified. (AP)
Jackson redirect
On recross the Doctor said he believed MJ got Propofol every night all night for the 2 months before his death. (ABC7)
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Monday court starts at 1:30 PM with Gordon O Matheson of Stanford University testifying.