Michael Jackson Death Trial
Murray back in Court
January 17th, 2012
Last week, Conrad Murray appeared in court again. This time he was fighting against the restitution that the prosecution called for him to pay to Jackson’s family. The prosecution is asking for $100 million dollars to be paid to Jackson’s children. Murray and his lawyers are trying once more to prove that Jackson caused his own death. This would mean he has to pay less restitution. Since he has already been convicted of being responsible for Jackson’s death he cannot claim he held no responsibility. Despite this, his lawyers believe if they can show that Jackson administered the final fatal dose off Propofol himself, the restitution Murray would have to pay could be reduced by as much as 50%. The ultimate decision about how much he will have to pay will be made by a judge.
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Murray sentenced
November 30th, 2011
Yesterday, Conrad Murray was sentenced to four years behind bars, the maximum sentence possible for his conviction. Under a new California law, he will serve his term in a LA county jail as opposed to a state prison. The new law allows non violent felony offenders to serve their time in jails instead of state prisons. Due to extreme jail and prison overcrowding in California, there is a possibility Murray will not serve the full four years.
Murray is in the process of having his medical licenses in all three states in which he practiced revoked. At the sentencing, Murray’s defense argued for probation but were unsuccessful in their efforts. Before handing down the sentence Judge Michael Pastor rebuked Murray for his lack of remorse and carelessness among other things.
For more information, go here, here or here
Verdict reached in Trial
November 9th, 2011
Jada Wittow
On Monday, after two days of jury deliberations, Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. One of the jurors told Good Morning America in an interview that on Friday, the first day of the deliberations, the verdict was not unanimous, and the jurors decided to take the weekend to think about it, and reconvene on Monday. She said that there were three reasons that the jury found Murray to be guilty: he failed to call 911, he had no backup medical equipment, and he left Jackson alone. She also said that the Jury did not think he deliberately killed Jackson, but if it were not for his actions, Jackson would still be alive today.
Murray is being held in jail until his sentencing date, set for for November 29th. He could face up to four years in prison, but likely will not due to a new law in California attempting to stop the overcrowding of prisons. One of his defense lawyers, Nareg Gourjiansaid that they will ask for probation, possibly with a short amount of time in the county jail. Murray also plans to appeal the verdict, and his is confident about his appeal according to his lawyers.
Gourjian thought that Murray was denied a fair trial due to pretrial hearings in which the court decided what evidence could be presented to the jury. His defense lawyers wanted to introduce evidence about Jackson’s past drug use, and financial condition, but the court did not allow them to present it. In addition, the defense lawyers also claimed this was a case of negligence that should have been presented in front of the state medical board, not in court. Murray’s medical license is currently suspended, and the Medical Board of California has now opened an investigation to determine whether his right to practice medicine in California will be fully revoked.
After the verdict was announced, fans gathered outside the Los Angeles courthouse cheered.
For more information, go here
Trial Draws To A Close
November 2nd, 2011
Jada Wittow
The end of this week will see the six week trial of Dr. Conrad Murray finally draw to a close. The defense attorneys for Murray have taken today off from court in order to prepare their closing arguments, which they will present tomorrow, Thursday. On Tuesday, after the testimony of the defense anesthesiology expert, the prosecution recalled their anesthesiology expert as a rebuttal to the defense expert. Murray also declared that he would not testify on his own behalf yesterday.
For more information about the trial, go here
Update on Trial
October 26th, 2011
Jada Wittow
Today, the trial of Conrad Murray continues. There have now been a total of 17 days of testimony. The defense has begun calling their witnesses. Five character witnesses are expected to testify today about Murray. One of the character witnesses is a woman named Ruby Mosley. She was a patient at the clinic Murray ran located in Houston, Texas. After the character witnesses the defense plans to call two of their own medical experts, as a response to all of the experts called by the prosecution. Closing arguments are expected to begin after the testimony the the medical experts. It is possible that jury deliberations could start as early as this Friday, but more likely they will not begin until next week.
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here
Murray Trial Resumes After Recess
October 19th, 2011
Jada Wittow
Today, the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, resumed. The trial took a five day recess after testimony was suspended last Thursday. Testimony was suspended last week for a few reasons. One was to allow Murray’s lawyers to study the results of a new lab test. The other reason was so because one of the witnesses for the prosecution, an expert on anesthesiology, could attend a medical conference.
If the testimony of the anesthesiologist concludes today, it could be the last day of the prosecution’s case. The court will then recess for a day while the defense finalizes their case, likely beginning this Friday. Jury deliberations are expected to begin next week.
Stay tuned for updates on the verdict of the trial.
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Update on Trial
October 12th, 2011
Jada Wittow
The trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray continues into its third week. It is expected there will be three days of defense testimony following the end of the prosecution’s case. The 10 days of testimony so far have included testimonies from Murray’s girlfriends, as well as audio recording, and shocking photos of Jackson on the autopsy table. The last days of prosecution testimony should focus more on science.
Starting today a cardiologist, an anesthesiologist and a sleep expert are expected to testify about the medical care that Murray gave Jackson in his last days. The prosecution says this care was reckless and negligent, andcaused Jackson’s untimely death.
Yesterday, the pathologist who performed Jackson’s autopsy said that even if Jackson administered the fatal dose of drugs that killed him, Murray would still be guilty because he gave Jackson access to those dangerous drugs, ones that were typically administered in hospital, not private settings.
The defense’s cross examination of the LA County medical examiner revealed that Jackson’s stomach contents were not initially tested during the autopsy process. The found Propofol in his blood, andthat said that was the cause of death. However, the defense had his stomach contents tested prior to the trial and found a concentration of Lorezapam in his stomach that was four times the concentration of it anywhere else in his body. This indicates that it was taken orally, by Jackson himself, the defense says.
On Tuesday morning, jurors heard the final part of one of the initial police interviews with Murray, in which he indicated that he thought Jackson was also seeing other doctors.
One of the defense’s arguments is that a Dr. Arnold Klein, a doctor Jackson had been seeing a few times a week had gotten Jackson addicted to Demerol, and that his inability to sleep was as a result of withdrawal from Demerol. The defense contends that Murray was not aware that this was the cause of his inability to sleep.
After the final few days of testimony, all that remains is the closing arguments. The prosecution has three witnesses remaining, all expected to testify today. The defense is expected to begin with their witnesses early next week. It is possible the case could be wrapped up by the end of the week next week.
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or
Trial continues into its second week
October 5th, 2011
Jada Wittow
Witness testimony continues today in the Conrad Murray trial. The next witnesses to take the stand are investigators and detectives. The trial began on September 27th and is expected to continue for at least four weeks.
In the last two days, the jury has heard testimony from people who were in contact with Murray through either calling or textingright aroundthe time of Michael Jackson’s death. Witness testimony has been going on since last Tuesday, when the trial began.
The main issue in this case is whether Jackson administered the fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives himself, or if Murray did. If he is convicted of involuntary manslaughter he would lose his medical license and face up to four years in prison.
Yesterday, the prosecution called witnesses to the stand to attempt to prove that Murray was negligent in treating Jackson on the day of his death, and was concerned with other things beside’s Jackson’s health that day, due to his phone records from that morning.
Testimony from his girlfriend, Nicole Alvarez was heard yesterday. Through the call records and testimony from Sade Andinga former girlfriendof Murray, who he talked around 11:45 that morning, prosecutors are trying to establish a time lapse between when they believe Jackson’s heart stopped and when 911 was called.
The judge ruled that Murray’s private life should be kept out of the evidence where possible, but due to his phone calls on the day of the Jackson’s death, it has not been entirely kept out of the trial.
Up until today, the witnesses have all been people who knew Jackson as well as the medical team involved from the ambulance to the hospital. Witnesses expected to be called today include detectives, investigators from the coroner’s office and an employee from of a medical and pharmaceutical distributor.
Today, jurors will hear likely hear a recording a two-hour interview the police conducted withMurray two days after Jackson’s death.
Murray Trial Begins
September 29th, 2011
Tara Wright
Opening statements for the Conrad Murray trial began on Tuesday.
On Friday, September 23, the jury for the Conrad Murray case was selected. The jury consists of seven men and five women, none of whom are African-American. () Some may believe that this is unfair considering the race of Jackson and Murray. However, the potential African-American jurors that were excluded were stricken either for “cause” or other valid reasons.
Opening statements began on Tuesday by the prosecution stating that Jackson’s misplaced trust in Murray inevitably caused his death. The prosecution insists that Murray administered a lethal dose of propofol, along with other sedatives, and lacked proper life-saving equipment to revive Jackson. Propofol is a surgical anesthetic that is generally used within a hospital setting. Murray admitted to giving Jackson this drug as a sleep aid, but said he administered the drug in non-lethal doses.
The defense presents an alternative theory. Their argument is that Jackson contributed to his own death in some way. He could have ingested more sedatives or even administered the lethal dose of propofol to himself.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor has limited the statements that can be made by the prosecution concerning the doctor’s personal life and the defense involving Jackson’s drug history and financial troubles. Even with these limitations in place, it will be interesting to see what comes out after all the testimony of all the witnesses.
Witness testimony began on Tuesday afternoon. Among the witnesses were two AEG Live employees, Paul Gongaware and Kathy Jorrie. Gongaware stated that during one of Jackson’s last performances, he appeared “engaged andenergetic.” Jorrie made comments on some of the requests Murray made days before Jackson’s death. Murray requested life-saving equipment andthe assistance of a seconddoctor. Although he made these requests, Murray told her that Jackson was “perfectly healthy” in the days before his death.
During his testimony, Jackson’s former personal assistant Michael Amir Williams recalled receiving an urgent phone call from Murray. Murray told him that Jackson had a bad reaction and to send someone up to the bedroom. Murray never told Williams to call 911 or described Jackson’s condition. Bodyguard Alberto Alvarez was sent to Jackson’s bedroom. He stated that Murray told him to “stash away vials of medicine and an IV bag before calling 911.” The prosecution is hoping his testimony will prove that Murray intended on hiding the fact that he was giving Jackson doses of a surgical anesthetic.
It’s only day three of the trial and with witness testimony like this, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the trial plays out. In later sessions, the focus should be on the science related to Jackson’s death and the role Murray played in it.
For more information on the trial, go here or here.
Jury Selection for the Murray Trial
September 19th, 2011
Tara Wright
Earlier this year, the selected jury for the Conrad Murray case was dismissed as a result of the postponed trial. Jury selection began again the 8thof this month. This process has not been easy considering all of the media coverage andrumors involving Jackson’s death.
When any celebrity is involved, there is expected controversy and difficulty when selecting a jury. Every juror needs to prove that they are unbiased andimpartial to the case in question. However, this case is particularly outrageous because of the celebrity involved. Many people had preconceived notions about Michael Jackson even before his death.
As a result, a questionnairefor the Murray case has been established in which each potential juror must complete. Question topics include various internet sites they visit, previous celebrity trials they followed, or any prescription drugs that have prior knowledge about. This wide range of topics among the approximate 100 questions is designed to eliminate any bias among the selected jury.
Whenever I hear or read about a celebrity case, I immediately form an initial opinion about whether or not the accused is guilty or innocent. This initial opinion, however, does not automatically exclude me from potentially serving on the jury for that case. Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor believes that a group of jurors can be found that can be impartial to the evidence presented before them and ignore the media coverage surrounding the trial.
Direct questioning of the potential jurors will be held on September 23rdafter the questionnaire responses have been reviewed. The defense attorneys and prosecutors will review these answers for several days and hopefully a group free of bias can be found.
For more information regarding jury selection for the Murray case, go here.
Murray trial less than one month away
August 12th, 2011
It’s been over two years since pop star Michael Jackson died of an overdose of surgical anesthetic, and soon his last doctor will have his day in court. Dr. Conrad Murray is accused of administering the fatal dose, and is being charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Jury selection in the Murray trial started at the end of March of this year, but prospective jurors were dismissed when the trial was postponed in May. Now we’re less than one month away from the start of the trial; jury selection is expected to begin from scratch on September 8th. The trial is expected to take two months, with opening statements starting toward the end of September.
While the defense strategy has been kept mostly secret, it’s recently been revealed that they plan to call to the stand the personal assistant of another doctor. For details on his expected testimony, go here. Stay tuned for updates on this trial.
