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Contempt Hearing Set For Expert In Jackson Case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge says comments made to a reporter by a key expert who will testify for the doctor charged in Michael Jackson's death may be a violation of a court order.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor on Friday set a Nov. 16 hearing to consider whether Dr. Paul White should be found in contempt for talking to a reporter from E! Entertainment Television.

E! reported Thursday that White called the prosecutor a "scumbag" and spoke about prosecution expert Dr. Steven Shafer, who is still testifying.

White said in court that he didn't recall making the statement.

Pastor set the contempt hearing outside the presence of jurors in the involuntary manslaughter case against Dr. Conrad Murray.

White and Shafer are colleagues at Columbia University. White will testify when Murray's attorneys begin calling witnesses.

The trial is set to resume Monday at 8:45 a.m.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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