Conrad Murray Defense to Call About 15 Witnesses

[PureLove]

Conrad Murray Defense to Call About 15 Witnesses

An attorney for Michael Jackson's personal physician told a judge today that the defense expects to call more than a dozen witnesses when it begins presenting its portion of the case next week.

Defense lawyer Nareg Gourjian told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor that the defense is planning to call "approximately 15 witnesses," including police officers, experts and character witnesses, in Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial stemming from Jackson's June 25, 2009, death.

Gourjian said he expects the defense to be finished with its case by next Friday or Oct. 24 as long as the prosecution's final witness, Dr. Steven Shafer, wraps up his testimony Monday.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the judge that Shafer -- an expert on the powerful anesthetic propofol -- was supposed to travel to Chicago to receive a lifetime achievement award but had a death in his family. The judge asked the prosecutor to notify him if Shafer would not be available to testify Monday so jurors could be notified not to come to court.

During a hearing outside the jurors' presence, another of Murray's attorneys, J. Michael Flanagan, told the judge that the defense had "months ago" abandoned the theory that Jackson orally ingested a fatal dose of propofol after Murray left the bedroom of the singer's rented Holmby Hills estate.

After Walgren told the judge that the prosecution was "dealing with an ever-changing defense," Flanagan said Murray's defense team had determined "back in May" after testing was done that it was not a feasible scenario. He had informed Pastor on Wednesday that the defense had commissioned a report that determined that swallowing propofol would not be fatal.

Prosecutors allege the 58-year-old cardiologist gave Jackson propofol, then left him unattended to make phone calls and send emails. Previous witnesses have testified about being on the phone with Murray that morning, or about emails the doctor sent from his iPhone in that time period, despite the doctor's assertion that he only left Jackson's side for two minutes to use the bathroom.

Defense attorneys have insisted that Murray was trying to wean Jackson off propofol, a medication the singer called his "milk" and had been using to combat insomnia.

Jackson, 50, died from acute propofol intoxication, with "benzodiazepene effect" as a contributing condition, according to the coroner's office. Toxicological testing showed propofol, midazolam and lorazepam in Jackson's system at the time of his death.

Murray told police that he agreed to give Jackson a 25-milligram dose of propofol following pleas from Jackson to "give me some milk" after giving him three other medications. He said he had begun three days earlier to try to wean Jackson off the anesthetic, which he had been giving to him for about two months.

Defense attorney Edward Chernoff told jurors in his opening statement that the defense would prove that Jackson swallowed lorazepam pills and "self-administered" the fatal dose of propofol that "created a perfect storm in his body that killed him instantly" while Murray was out of Jackson's bedroom.

During the prosecution's opening statement, Walgren told jurors that Murray "deceived" paramedics and hospital emergency room doctors by failing to tell them he had given propofol to Jackson -- never mentioning the drug until two days later when he was interviewed by police detectives.

Earlier this week, two medical specialists testified that Murray deviated drastically from accepted standards of care, including using propofol in a home setting to treat Jackson's inability to sleep and failing to immediately call for help.

Jurors also heard from a deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Jackson's body a day after his death. Dr. Christopher Rogers testified that he believed the singer did not give himself propofol.

Shafer, an anesthesiologist who is the editor-in-chief of the medical journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, began his testimony Thursday by telling jurors he was involved in the development of dosing guidelines for propofol.

Prosecutors wrote in court papers filed last month that Shafer has opined that "there is almost nothing in Murray's care of Michael Jackson that reflected the actions of a trained physician" and that Murray is "responsible for the death of Michael Jackson through extreme and unconscionable violations of the standard of care."

Murray was treating Jackson at his rented Holmby Hills estate, where the singer was staying while rehearsing for his planned series of 50 sold-out concerts in London dubbed "This Is It."

If convicted, Murray faces up to four years in state prison.

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/jackson_dr_trial/case_file/defense-to-call-about-15-witnesses-20111014

[suspicious mind]

i suppose this is off topic but does it seem odd to anyone else that they are constantly mentioning murrays age?

[Raikiramari]

 /overreacting/ (Flips desk) That's it, I'm not watching the Trial anymore.

I am SICK of the Witnesses, they are so darn boring. (Snore) I swear they should've hired these people to get Michael to sleep, it would've totally worked. I have severe insomnia and even these guys make me feel tired, gah!

15 Witnesses, eh? (Headdesk)  /scream/