Michael Jackson wrongful death trial begins

Rolling Stone has reported that the wrongful death charge that Michael Jackson's family filed in 2009 against the promotional company AEG Live will finally go to trial today (April 2) in Los Angeles.

The star's family is suing the company for $40 billion, or the amount that he would have made over the rest of his life if he hadn't been over-medicated by a shady doctor who they say AEG negligently hired.

They want to see AEG, which was promoting Jackson's comeback tour This Is It, held accountable for hiring then-doctor Conrad Murray.

Murray was charged with manslaughter and stripped of his license for administering a lethal dose of anaesthetic to the singer, then abandoning him. 

Jackson's family will try to prove with documentation and testimony that AEG was previously aware that Murray was likely to use dangerous methods.

In turn, the company's lawyers will be dragging MJ through the mud yet again by drudging up his old molestation charges—of which he was acquitted—and erratic behavior to show a pattern of drug use.

They will also try to prove that the pop star hired the doctor himself and basically that he was a grown man responsible for his own decisions. Fair enough.

See an in-depth report from CNN here.