A year and a half after Michael Jackson's heart stopped beating in a bedroom of his rented Holmby Hills mansion, prosecutors are due in court to present evidence that the pop star's $150,000-a-month personal physician caused his death. The preliminary hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court will determine whether authorities have a strong-enough involuntary manslaughter case to try Dr. Conrad Murray, a cardiologist who has acknowledged administering a dangerous anesthetic blamed in Jackson's death.
Such hearings are typically pro forma proceedings in which homicide prosecutors call only a police detective and a coroner to relate the basic facts of the case. But for Murray's hearing, prosecutors have said they plan to call as many as 35 witnesses for testimony that will last at least two weeks. Those summoned to the stand are expected to include medical experts and investigators as well as the security guards and staff who were around the doctor and his famous patient in the days and hours leading up to Jackson's death on June 25, 2009.
Involuntary manslaughter refers to a killing done without malice. At trial, prosecutors would need to show that Murray caused Jackson's death either in the commission of a crime not rising to a felony or by acting "without due caution and circumspection." The level of proof required at a preliminary hearing, sufficient cause, is much lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard required for a conviction. Prosecutors must demonstrate only enough evidence to lead a "person of ordinary caution or prudence" to have a "strong suspicion" the defendant is guilty.
State law allows prosecutors to streamline preliminary hearings by having police officers summarize witness accounts, but former L.A. homicide prosecutor Truc Do said she was not surprised that prosecutors in such a high-profile case were opting for a "full-blown rather than bare-bones" hearing with dozens of live witnesses.
"You want the opportunity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your witnesses and to see how they do under cross-examination," said Do, who prosecuted record producer Phil Spector for murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. She added that getting potentially skittish witnesses, such as those from Jackson's inner circle, under oath would be crucial in case they later fled the jurisdiction.
Much of the testimony is likely to concern Murray's use of the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol to treat Jackson's chronic insomnia. The coroner listed the cause of death as "acute propofol intoxication." Propofol is not approved for sleep disorders or home use, and the United States Food and Drug Administration says it is so dangerous that only a trained anesthesiologist should administer it.
Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted, has pleaded not guilty. He has said he gave Jackson a small amount of propofol the morning of his death but said through his lawyers that it should not have caused death. Low declined to elaborate on Murray's defense, but comments at a hearing last week concerning scientific testing of evidence suggested the defense might argue that Jackson injected himself with a large and ultimately fatal amount of propofol.
If you or a member of your family has been arrested and charged with voluntary or involuntary manslaughter you need to contact a Los Angeles manslaughter criminal defense attorney as early as possible to start your defense. Do not speak to the police. Call criminal defense lawyers Steve Cron or Philip Israels at the law offices of Cron, Israels & Stark to set up your free initial appointment. It is a no-cost consultation and our legal team is there to work at protecting your rights and freedoms.