Katherine Jackson: Michael's mother, 82, was deposed for nine hours over three days by AEG Live lawyers. As the guardian of her son's three children, she is a plaintiff in the wrongful death lawsuit against the company that promoted Michael Jackson's comeback concerts.
Kenny Ortega: He was chosen by Michael Jackson and AEG Live to direct and choreograph the "This Is It" shows. Ortega, who choreographed for Jackson's "Dangerous" and "HIStory" tours, testified at Dr. Conrad Murray's criminal trial that "Jackson was frail" at a rehearsal days before his death.
Dr. Conrad Murray: He was Michael Jackson's personal physician in the two months before his death, giving him nightly infusions of the surgical anesthetic that the coroner ruled led to his death. Murray, who is appealing his involuntary manslaughter conviction, has sworn that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination and refused to testify in the civil trial. There is a chance that Murray will be brought into court from jail to testify outside the presence of the jury to allow the judge to determine if he would be ordered to testify.
Joe Jackson: Michael's father, 84, is on the witness list for the trial and may testify. The Jackson family patriarch, who lives in Las Vegas separately from his wife, has suffered several ministrokes in the last year, which some close to him say have affected him.
Prince Jackson: Michael's oldest son is considered a key witness in the Jacksons' case against AEG Live, since he is expected to testify about what his father told him about the concert promoter in the last days of his life. Prince, who turned 16 in February, is becoming more independent -- he now has a driver's license and jobs.
Paris Jackson: Michael's daughter, who turned 15 on April 3, is on the list of witnesses and was questioned by AEG Live lawyers for several hours on March 21 about her father's death. Paris is an outspoken teen who often posts messages to her 1 million-plus Twitter followers.
Blanket Jackson: Although AEG Live asked the judge to order Blanket, 11, to sit for a deposition, and he is one of the four plaintiffs suing them, Michael's youngest son will not be a witness in the trial. His doctor submitted a note to the court saying it would be "medically detrimental" to the child.
Randy Phillips: He's president of AEG Live, the concert promoter that contracted with Michael Jackson for his "This Is It" comeback shows set to start in London in July 2009. The Jackson lawsuit says Phillips supervised Dr. Conrad Murray's treatment of Jackson in the weeks before his death, making the company liable for damages. E-mails between Phillips and other executives showed they were worried about Jackson's missed rehearsals and sought Murray's help getting him ready.
Kevin Boyle: The Los Angeles personal injury lawyer is leading the Jackson team of at least six attorneys in the wrongful death suit against AEG Live. One of his notable cases was a large settlement with Boeing on behalf of two soldiers injured when their helicopter malfunctioned and crashed in Iraq.
Perry Sanders, Jr.: Katherine Jackson's personal lawyer is helping steer the Jackson matriarch through her relations with her son's estate, probate court and the wrongful death suit. He is also known for representing the family of Biggie Smalls in their suit against the city of Los Angeles over the rapper's death investigation.
Marvin Putnam: He's the lead lawyer for AEG Live, defending against the wrongful death suit. The primary focus of his legal practice is "media in defense of their First Amendment rights," according to his official biography.
Philip Anschutz: The billionaire owner of AEG, parent company of AEG Live, is on the Jacksons' witness list. He is the force behind the effort to build a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles to lure a National Football League team to the city. He recently pulled his company off the market after trying to sell it for $8 billion.
Tim Leiweke: He was recently fired as AEG's president as Philip Anschutz announced he was taking a more active role in the company. The Jackson lawyers say Leiweke's e-mail exchanges with executives under him concerning Michael Jackson's health are important evidence in their case.
Paul Gongaware: The AEG Live co-CEO worked closely with Michael Jackson as he prepared for his comeback concerts. He testified at Dr. Conrad Murray's criminal trial that he contacted the physician and negotiated his hiring at the request of Jackson. AEG lawyers say it was Jackson who chose, hired and supervised Murray. Gongaware knew Jackson well, having been tour manager for the singer in previous years.
John Branca: He's one of two executors of Michael Jackson's estate. Branca was Jackson's lawyer until about seven years before his death. He said Jackson rehired him just weeks before he died.
- Addiction expert: Michael Jackson's propofol use was like "Russian roulette"
- Jackson family lawyers attack the expert's credibility and independence
- AEG Live funded the expert's propofol research paper
- The wrongful death case is likely to go to the jury in three weeks
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's drug addiction gave him "a grave prognosis" for a long life, and each dose of an anesthetic his doctor gave him to help him sleep was like playing "Russian roulette," an addiction expert hired by AEG Live testified.
Lawyers for the concert promoter hired Dr. Paul Earley in their effort to downplay damages the company might have to pay if found liable in the pop icon's death.
But lawyers for Jackson's mother and children attacked Earley's credibility and independence, pointing to an online blog he wrote just three weeks after the singer's death. They argue it shows he concluded then that Jackson was addicted to the surgical anesthetic propofol.
Earley also accepted $53,000 from AEG Live to fund a study of propofol addiction, without disclosing to the study's publisher, his collaborator or readers that he was also being paid to help the company's defense lawyers in the wrongful death lawsuit, they argue.
MIchael Jackson's ex-wife cries on stand
Paris Jackson's deposition
Prince Jackson testifies against AEG
Compare Michael Jackson in 2001 to 2009
Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle resumes his grilling of Earley on Wednesday, the trial's 79th day of testimony.
Jurors learned Tuesday that the end of the trial is approaching, with just a handful of witnesses left to hear. Closing arguments could be delivered around September 23, based on estimates lawyers for each side gave the judge. The trial began in April. The judge did not tell jurors that she is considering a plan to "partially sequester" them while they deliberate the case.
Katherine Jackson and her three grandchildren sued Michael Jackson's last concert promoter, contending the company is liable in his death because it hired, retained or supervised the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Dr. Conrad Murray told investigators he gave Jackson infusions of propofol for 60 nights to treat his insomnia as the entertainer prepared for his comeback concerts. The coroner ruled his June 25, 2009, death was caused by an overdose of propofol.
AEG Live lawyers contend it was Jackson, not the promoter, who chose and controlled Murray, and say AEG executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving Jackson in the privacy of his bedroom.
Nurse details Michael Jackson's fatal search for sleep
Earley: Jackson went 'doctor shopping'
Despite his 2009 blog titled "Michael Jackson: Addiction in the Privileged," Earley testified Tuesday that there "was insufficient evidence that he was addicted to propofol."
"He was given propofol initially for appropriate medical procedures, but at some point he began seeking out physicians who would administer propofol to him," Earley testified.
The last two instances of "doctor shopping" for propofol were late March and April of 2009, when Jackson asked an anesthesiologist to go on tour with him and then asked a nurse to help him find an anesthesiologist, he said.
Earley said there was no evidence that Jackson's search for a doctor to give him propofol continued after AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware sent an e-mail to the singer's assistant on May 6, 2009, telling him Murray had agreed to take the job as his personal physician for the "This Is It" tour. "Done at $150k a month," Gongaware wrote.
"Sounds like he got it," Earley testified.
The Jackson family's lawyers contend that AEG Live executives ignored warning signs that Jackson's health began deteriorating after Murray began attending to him on a daily basis. Show workers sent e-mails describing a paranoid and frail Jackson who couldn't perform his standard dances or remember words to songs he had sung for decades.
A Harvard Medical School sleep expert, testifying in June for the Jacksons, concluded that the 60 nights of propofol infusions apparently robbed Jackson of REM -- rapid eye movement -- sleep, which is vital to keep the brain and body alive.
"The symptoms that Mr. Jackson was exhibiting were consistent with what someone might expect to see of someone suffering from total sleep deprivation over a chronic period," Dr. Charles Czeisler testified.
Jackson's mom remembers her 'sweet little boy'
MJ's 'grave prognosis'
Earley testified that Jackson was addicted to opioids -- painkillers given to him by doctors starting in the early 1990s when he was being treated for a painful scalp burn. That addiction, combined with his use of propofol, would have reduced his life expectancy if he had not died in 2009, Earley said.
Every time Jackson was given propofol was "like playing Russian roulette," Earley testified.
How much longer Jackson might have lived -- and earned money touring -- will be important if the jury decides AEG Live is liable for damages in Jackson's death. Jackson lawyers contend he would have earned more than $1.5 billion touring the world over the next several years.
Earley testified that Jackson's hopes of recovering were bleak because of his wealth and fame.
AEG expert: Jackson was a drug addict
Expert's conflict?
Soon after AEG Live's lawyers hired Earley as a consultant on propofol addiction in 2011, they agreed to fund his scientific research, which resulted in his paper titled "Addiction to Propofol: A Study of 22 Treatment Cases." The American Society of Addiction Medicine published the study in March 2013.
Earley insisted in his testimony that AEG Live's funding did not influence the conclusions of his study or his testimony in the trial.
But the Jackson lawyer hammered the doctor about the lack of disclosure to the scientific journal and his collaborator that he was being paid to be an expert witness in the trial. He informed them that he was doing research for the company, but the trial aspect was "irrelevant," Earley said.
"It's irrelevant to health care professionals," he said. "It wouldn't affect their understanding of the paper."
