California Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ruled Thursday that two autopsy photos of Michael Jackson can be submitted as evidence during the upcoming trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, a person inside the courtroom told CNN.
Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter, with authorities alleging that he gave Jackson the drug propofol, which the Los Angeles County coroner ruled caused the singer's death June 25, 2009.
Jury selection in Murray's trial began last month and will continue into early May. Opening statements and testimony are scheduled to begin May 9.
The defense has argued that Jackson self-administered the propofol in a desperate attempt to get sleep before a rehearsal.
Murray told investigators that he was trying to wean Jackson off propofol in the last days of his life but that he used it along with other drugs to help the pop star sleep that last morning.
The defense claims that the singer's dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, injected Jackson with powerful painkillers dozens of times in the last months of his life, unknown to Murray.
The Medical Board of California and Los Angeles County coroner investigated Klein after Jackson's death, but he was never charged, and no action was taken to revoke his medical license.
This month, Michael Jackson's dermatologist was ordered to give copies of the pop star's medical records to Murray's attorneys.
Defense attorney Ed Chernoff argued that he needed the financial and medical information to make the case that Jackson, who he said was "a desperate man in many respects," gave himself the fatal dose of surgical anesthesia while the doctor was not watching.
Pastor did not order estate executors to give the defense detailed financial information about money the singer owed when he died. But he said Jackson's former business manager, Tohme Tohme, must testify in Murray's trial.
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