Their names are confidential, kept from the lawyers for the prosecution and for the defense of Dr. Conrad Murray and even from Judge Michael Pastor. But we know much about each of the 12 jurors from the questionnaires they filled out at the beginning of jury selection and the questions they answered in court.
Special Section: Conrad Murray Trial | The Jury Questionnaire
They are seven men and five women. Six of them describe themselves as Caucasian or White, five Latino, one African-American. Five of them live in the San Gabriel Valley, with two more in neighboring Whittier. Eleven work full or part-time. Only one is unemployed. But two have had brushes with bankruptcy.
Contrary to the stereotype of jurors for extended length trials, only one of them works for a government agency.
In response to a pointed questionnaire inquiry, several acknowledge they have known people who suffered from alcoholism. But few professed any familiarity with the 27 drugs listed in the questionnaire, beyond the antibiotic amoxicillin and the painkiller vicodin, which several reported receiving after surgeries. One acknowledged a DUI, and attending a class for it.
Most recalled no significant encounters with crime, but one survived being wounded during a drive-by shooting.
All are familiar with Michael Jackson, but only a handful said they have his music in their collections. One who described Jackson as a "gifted performer" told the court that while working at Disney two decades ago, he was introduced to Jackson during the making of the Captain Eo video.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday. Below, a thumbnail sketch of each of the Murray jurors:
Juror in Seat One: A 51-year-old man born in Mexico who now lives in Whittier. He works as a letter carrier. He and his wife have five children and six grandchildren. He likes Michael Jackson's music, but did not collect any of it.
Juror in Seat Two: A 57-year-old woman born in Spain, now living in Alhambra. She worked as an accounting manager, but is currently unemployed. Both her children are grown, and she has two grandchildren. She agrees with the questionnaire proposition in question 86: "Celebrities and high-profile people feel they are entitled to act however they please."
Juror in Seat Three: A 45-year-old man born in Charleston, S.C., now living on LA's Westside. He's a partner in a management consulting company with computer system expertise. He and his registered nurse wife have two boys. In his spare time he competes in triathlons. He watched "This is It," the film made from the video of Jackson's final rehearsals, because he was "curious."
Juror in Seat Four: A 32-year-old man who lives in Eagle Rock. He's the only juror with military experience, having served eight years with the Army National Guard. He now works as a book seller. He wrote that he has not read much about the case, but because of the nature of his job he sees all the headlines about it on the periodicals he sells.
Juror in Seat Five: A 48-year-old woman who lives in Temple City. She is a full-time paralegal. She and her husband are hockey Kings fans and also like to go boating. Their two children are grown. She never visits the news and entertainment websites the questionnaire asked about. Her TV viewing tends to be on cable -- she likes Animal Planet, HGTV, an ESPN.
Juror in Seat Six: A 39-year-old man who grew up in LA and now lives in Tujunga. He works as an associate director of product management. He and his wife have two children. He remembers when Jackson's "Thriller" came out nearly 30 years ago, and still has his collection of Jackson music going all the way back to the Jackson 5.
Juror in Seat Seven: A 54-year-old woman who lives in the San Gabriel Valley. She works as office manager for her husband, who owns more than one business. Her five children are all grown. She doesn't consider herself a fan of Jackson, but "loved his music as a very young girl."
Juror in Seat Eight: A 42-year-old man from Mexico who now lives in Lynwood with his wife and their four children. He works as a school bus driver. He likes classical music and news radio, but not TV. He lists his main hobby as mowing their lawn.
Juror in Seat Nine: A 54-year-old bachelor who came to LA from Detroit 21 years ago. He works as a technical director for a cable sports network. His reading tends toward sports and financial. He listens to music and has always liked Jackson's early recordings, but now is "more of a Jay-Z fan."
Juror in Seat 10: A 43-year-old woman from England who moved to the LA area 12 years ago and now lives in Monrovia. She has a degree in biochemistry, works part-time in international marketing, and is married to an executive engineer. They have two young children, but she still believes she can handle serving on a trial expected to go five weeks. "As a new citizen, I see this opportunity as a privilege and my civic duty to do the right thing," she wrote in her questionnaire.
Juror in Seat 11: A 36-year-old woman who has lived in the LA area her whole life. She and her significant other have five children. She works as a customer service rep. She likes reality TV, but usually does not follow high profile criminal cases, except the Casey Anthony trial in Florida "because it involved a child."
Juror in Seat 12: A 54-year-old man, originally from Washigton, DC, now living in Altadena. The past two years he has worked as a college professor after a 20-year career in animation with Disney and other studios. It was while at Disney, he told the court during voir dire questioning, that he was introduced to Jackson. Has a sense of humor. In response to the questionnaire inquiring if he followed the OJ Simpson trial, he wrote, "Who didn't?"
These are the 12 who have been sworn to the task of determining if Jackson's medication overdose death was a crime, and if Dr. Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Five alternate jurors will also be present for the entire trial, in case they are called to step in.
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