Plaintiffs attorney Geoffrey Fieger may focus on the alleged deceptive tactics of "The Jenny Jones Show" in closing arguments Wednesday. (Court TV)

				JENNY JONES CIVIL TRIAL
				The Trial of Jonathan Schmitz Read the Complaint Sept. 14 1998 Update (Schmitz' conviction overturned) March 18 Update March 26 Update March 30 Update March 30 Update (Afternoon) March 31 Update (Plaintiff Opening Statements) March 31 Update (Defendant Opening Statements) April 1 Update (Morning) April 1 Update (Afternoon) April 5 Update (Morning) April 5 Update (Afternoon) April 6 Update (Morning) April 6 Update (Afternoon) April 7 Update (Morning) April 7 Update (Afternoon) April 8 Update (Morning) April 8 Update (Afternoon) April 9 Update (Morning) April 9 Update (Afternoon) April 12 Update (Morning) April 12 Update (Afternoon) April 13 Update (Morning) April 13 Update (Afternoon) April 14 Update (Morning) April 14 Update (Afternoon) April 15 Update April 16 Update April 19 Update April 20 Update April 21 Update (Morning) April 21 Update (Afternoon) April 22 Update April 23 Update (Morning) April 23 Update (Afternoon) April 26 Update April 27 Update (Morning) April 27 Update (Afternoon) April 28 Update April 29 Update April 30 Update May 3 Update May 4 Update (Morning) May 4 Update (Evening) May 5 Update (Closing Arguments) May 5 Update (Closing Arguments) May 6 Update (Jury Instructions) May 6 Update (Geraldo Rivera Interview) May 7 Update (The Verdict) May 7 Update (Post-Verdict Reaction) May 10 Update (Jenny Jones Interview)

PONTIAC, Mich. (Court TV) — Did "The Jenny Jones Show" set the stage for Jonathan Schmitz's murder of Scott Amedure or was Schmitz solely responsible for the slaying?

For the past six weeks, this question and the debate over whether Amedure's murder was a natural and foreseeable consequence of Schmitz's experience on the "The Jenny Jones Show," have been the central issues of the negligence suit involving the program. And attorneys for both sides will attempt to settle this debate during closing arguments Wednesday.

The family of Amedure believes that "The Jenny Jones Show" should have asked Schmitz whether he suffered from a mental illness before having him appear on the show. Amedure was shot to death by Schmitz three days after Amedure revealed his secret crush on him during a taping of the episode.

Amedure's family believes the show, its parent company Warner Bros. and production company Telepictures started the chain of events that led to the murder, and they are seeking $50 million in a negligence suit. They claim that the program purposely misled Schmitz before the show and encouraged outrageous fantasies from Amedure to embarrass Schmitz and create "good television."

Jones' producers, however, say the show had nothing to do with the murder, deny misleading Schmitz before the show, and suggest something else happened between the two men that triggered the slaying. "The Jenny Jones Show" is produced by Warner Bros., which is owned by Time Warner, a part owner of Court TV.

Using his characteristic aggressiveness and passion, plaintiffs attorney Geoffrey Fieger focused on proving that the show's producers lied to Schmitz to make him come on the show. As he did earlier in the trial, Fieger will likely argue in his closings that the producers misled Schmitz by refusing to tell him that his secret admirer would be a man and only telling him that it could be a man, a woman, or a transvestite. "The Jenny Jones Show," Fieger claims, lied to Schmitz, did not tell him it was a same-sex crush show, so that it could use his embarrassment for entertainment and to generate ratings.

Focusing on testimony regarding Schmitz's excessive drinking and alleged depression after the show, Fieger will stress to jurors that "Jenny Jones" sent him into a downward spiral which cost Amedure his life.

Schmitz's father, Allyn, his employers at The Fox & Hounds restaurant, and his sister all testified that he was noticeably disturbed by his experience on the show and that they urged him to "put it behind him." Even an airline passenger who sat next to Schmitz on his flight home testified that he seemed preoccupied with his experience on the show and said that if he could get angry if he really thought about what had happened. His appearance on "Jenny Jones," Fieger may add, was one of the first things Schmitz mentioned in a 911 call after the murder.

Fieger is also expected to focus on Schmitz's history of mental illness, particularly his prior suicide attempts and what the producers of "Jenny Jones" allegedly should and could have done to screen him and prevent him from coming on the show. The producers, he has argued, could have asked Schmitz whether he had been hospitalized for mental illness. The plaintiffs also believe the show could have provided post-show counseling for Schmitz to make sure he was okay.

Fieger may also add that the producers knew Schmitz did not want his secret admirer to be a man: he told former producer Karen Campbell that he did not want a man telling him about a secret crush on national television. That, Fieger may insist, is why they refused to tell Schmitz the specific gender of his admirer. In addition, Fieger could also stress the another former producer, Ron Muccianti, allegedly told Schmitz that he had seen "the girl of his dreams."

Led by their attorney James Feeney, the defendants are expected to argue that the show had no reason to suspect that Schmitz would have killed Amedure after the show and that Schmitz's behavior and answers in a pre-show interview did not suggest that he was a homophobic mental powderkeg. Feeney will argue that Schmitz knew that his secret admirer could be a man and had even confided this to his co-worker Chuck Hoover. When asked during his pre-show interview how he would react if his crush was a man, he said that he would say thanks but no thanks. Schmitz said he would be disappointed but would be okay.

Feeney is also expected to stress that Schmitz's behavior during and immediately after the show did not illustrate his alleged embarrassment. On a videotape of the unaired show, Schmitz is seen smiling and appears to be handling the surprise revelation well. Muccianti testified that Schmitz shook his hand and thanked him for having him as a guest. Feeney may also note that Schmitz partied with Amedure and their mutual friend Donna Riley after the show.

Using the testimony of psychiatrists and evidence from Schmitz's confession, Feeney is also expected to argue that Schmitz did not kill Amedure because of "The Jenny Jones Show." Schmitz did not mention the words "humiliation," "ambush," or embarrassment by "Jenny Jones" in his 911 call and confession. He said Amedure would not leave him alone. Feeney has pointed out that Schmitz killed because he felt like he was being stalked, not because of his experience on "Jenny Jones."

The defendants also may stress through a videotaped interview from Patricia Graves, the victim's mother, and the testimony of guest Ronie Perez and Muccianti that Amedure and Schmitz had a romantic encounter after the show. This would undermine the claims of embarrassment and perhaps suggest that Schmitz could not handle his alleged sexuality. Fieger and Schmitz's relatives have denied he was homosexual and that the encounter ever occurred. Graves has said she thought Amedure may have been kidding when he told her about the alleged encounter.

Given the complexity of the issues and the weeks of testimony, jury deliberations are expected to be lengthy. If jurors side with the plaintiffs, the verdict could revolutionize the way talk shows recruit their guests.

Court TV's Bryan Robinson contributed to this report.