Michael Jackson's Trials

Sky Pulls Michael Jackson Programme

2017-01-13T02:39:00.002-08:00

Sky pulls broadcast of show that cast white actor as Michael Jackson https://t.co/ysO9JKW25t #DSNEurope #television
— DSNEWS⭕️ (@DannyShookNews) January 13, 2017

Jackson's Estate Sued For $24M

2012-10-31T08:43:00.001-07:00

Michael Jonzu, a music producer, is claiming that the Jackson estate owes him for his involvement on the late Michael Jackson's posthumously released track This is It, and is suing both Jackson's estate and the track's co-writer, Paul Anka.

How much does he want?

$24M!

Conrad Murray Has Dysentery

2012-04-02T04:18:00.001-07:00

Conrad Murray has not been having a particularly pleasant time in jail, as apparently he has gone down with dysentery

Conrad Murray Requests Release

2012-01-30T03:05:00.000-08:00

Dr Conrad Murray has requested that he be released from jail pending his appeal against his four year sentence. He said in a declaration that he should be released either on his own recognizance or on bail with electronic monitoring.

His lawyer, J. Michael Flanagan, stated in the motion that Murray knows he cannot work as a doctor but would find other employment. He suggested the sentence and Murray's mode of confinement is extremely severe for a man with no prior criminal record.

A hearing on the motion is set for February 24th.

Restitution Withdrawn

2012-01-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Prosecutors will not seek restitution against Dr Conrad Murray.

The request for restitution of $100M was permanently withdrawn, after discussions with the Jackson family.

Restitution

2012-01-13T03:30:00.000-08:00

Dr Conrad Murray has launched an appeal against the the claim made by Michael Jackson's family for $100M in restitution against him.

Dr Murray's lawyer, Michael Falangan, claims that the amount of restitution ought to be restricted, given that Jackson was in part responsible for his own death through a self-administration of Propofol.

The judge is considering the amount.

Chancers

2012-01-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

A group of 100 Michael Jackson fans based in France have hired a lawyer, Emmanuel Ludot, to sue Conrad Murray (who is currently serving time for the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson) for compensation for the "emotional damage" caused by Conrad Murray.

Ludot told the Afp:

"It's similar to losing a childhood friend in a traffic accident. Because this death affects you, you have the possibility to file a suit and seek compensation."

The case will be heard in Orleans, France on April 11 2012.

Will the money, if they win the case, bring Jackson back or assuage their alleged "grief"?

Conrad Murray Appeals

2011-12-09T03:56:00.001-08:00

Dr Conrad Murray, who has been sentenced to four years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of Michale Jackson, has filed an appeal against the sentence.

He has filed "pro Per" (ie he represents himself), but the filing does not indicate the basis of his appeal.

Lloyd's Disputes Insurance Claim

2011-12-02T04:16:00.001-08:00

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Malcolm Mackey, has ruled that Lloyd's of London (the insurers for Michael Jackson's comeback shows) can study some of his medical records.

Lloyd's is challenging a policy claim of £11M on Jackson's death, citing the fact that it was not aware that he was on medication, and have filed a suit against the tour promoter AEG.

Conrad Murray Sentenced

2011-11-30T02:01:00.001-08:00

Dr Conrad Murray was sentenced to four years in country jail (not state prison) yesterday, for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.

On passing sentence Judge Michael Pastor said:

"Of everything I heard and saw during the course of the trial, one aspect of the evidence stands out the most, and that is the surreptitious recording of Michael Jackson by his trusted doctor.

I find that Dr Murray abandoned his patient who was trusting him; his patient was vulnerable under those circumstances, having been administrated potentially dangerous drugs by his medical provider.

Dr Murray's course of conduct extended over a period of time, he repeatedly lied and engaged in deceitful misconduct and endeavoured to cover up his transgressions.

He violated the trust of the medical community, of his colleagues and of his patient and he has absolutely no sense of remorse, absolutely no sense of fault and remains dangerous.

It's easy to say, 'Oh well, Dr Murray is a medical doctor, he's a smart sophisticated man, he doesn't have a criminal history, he may not be licensed to practise medicine in the future - although that has nothing to do with me, I have no authority over that.

The fact remains, Dr Murray is offended by that patient dying and I don't have any idea what will prompt Dr Murray to do or not do something in the future that may be dangerous to a patient if he does practise medicine in the United States or even elsewhere."

It is likely, because of overcrowding, that Dr Murray will not serve the full term.

Prosecution Press For Maximum Term and $100M Fine

2011-11-25T04:03:00.001-08:00

Dr Conrad Murray will be sentenced next week, having been found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.

The prosecution have filed a sentencing memo asking for Dr Murray to be sentenced to the maximum of four years in jail, together with a request that he be forced to pay Jackson's children over $100M in compensation for Jackson's loss of income.

Given that Dr Murray has lost his licence, it is unlikely that he will ever be able to pay that debt. However, if he were fined $100M it would ensure that he would never personally profit from any future media deals; as the monies earned would have to be used to pay down the debt.

Documentary

2011-11-09T04:18:00.000-08:00

It appears that Dr Conrad Murray has, for the last two years been co-operating with a documentary team (October Films) on a film about Michael Jackson.

He was paid a nominal sum of $1.

However, I dare say (had Jackson not died, and Dr Murray not been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter) there would have been other media deals in the pipeline.

In an extract from the forthcoming documentary, Dr Murray says:

"He was pleading and begging to please please let him have some milk because that was the only thing that would work."

Doubtless though, Dr Murray will now find time to write a book about it.

Dr Conrad Murray Found Guilty

2011-11-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

Dr Conrad Murray has been found guilty, by a unanimous verdict, of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.

He faces up to four years in jail, and will lose his medical licence.

He is currently being held in custody on suicide watch, whilst he awaits hi sentence.

The fans of Michael Jackson, who were camped outside the courthouse. expressed satisfaction with the verdict. Whatever the verdict, and sentence, they should temper their jubilation and bear in mind that it will not bring Jackson back.

Jury's Out

2011-11-04T04:25:00.001-07:00

The jury in the trial of Dr Conrad Murray is now considering its verdict.

Dr Conrad Murray Will Not Testify

2011-11-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

Dr Conrad Murray finally came to a decision about whether he will take the witness stand or not in his trial.

He told the judge, whilst the jury was out of the room, that he would not testify.

At which point the defence rested its case and the prosecution, after presenting brief rebuttal testimony, closed its presentation of evidence.

Defence and prosecution will now prepare and present their closing arguments.

Doctors Disagree

2011-11-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Dr Paul White continued his testimony at the trail of Dr Conrad Murray, and told the court that he believed that Michael Jackson took the anaesthetic Propofol by rapidly injecting it.

Dr White thought it was possible that Jackson had got out of bed, even though he was attached to a saline IV and a urine collection device, found a syringe with 25mg of Propofol in it, got back in to bed, and administered it to himself.

Dr Shafer, his friend and colleague, dismissed the theory as a "crazy scenario", noting that Jackson would have to have injected himself several times to achieve such high levels of propofol in his body.

Dr White, for his part, said that he would not have accepted a job that involved administering Propofol in a non medical setting.

Dr Murray is considering whether he will take the stand himself.

The trial continues.

Jackson Self Administered Drug

2011-10-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

Dr Paul White, an anaesthesiologist, gave testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray yesterday. He stated that, in his opinion, Michael Jackson injected himself with a dose of propofol after an initial dose provided by Dr Murray had worn off.

He also stated that Jackson had self administered a dose of lorazepam (a tranquilliser).

The combination of the two drugs had lethal consequences.

Dr White gave a demonstration of how propofol could have entered Jackson's veins, in the small dose (25mg) that Dr Murray claimed that he had given Jackson. Such a dosage, according to Dr White, would have only had an effect on Jackson for around 10-15 minutes. Hence Jackson's "need/desire" to administer another dose.

The trial continues.

Drug Dependency

2011-10-28T06:06:00.001-07:00

Dr Robert Waldman, a drug addiction specialist, has given testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray.

He stated that despite the fact that Michael Jackson was getting large regular shots of the painkiller Demerol (for his botox treatment), in the months before his death, he could not state unequivocally that Jackson was addicted to painkillers.

Dr Murray's defence team contend that Jackson was addicted to various drugs, and that he engaged in "doctor shopping". They argue that Dr Murray was unaware that Jackson was getting shots of the addictive painkiller Demerol from Dr Arnold Klein. Ironically Demerol would have negated Dr Murray's treatment for Jackson's sleep disorder.

Dr Waldman did, however, contend that Jackson was "dependent" (ie had a physical need, but not destructive need, for a drug) on Demerol.

The trial continues.

Compassion

2011-10-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

Ruby Mosley, a former patient of Dr Conrad Murray, brought Dr Murray to tears as she testified on his behalf at his trial yesterday.

She and four other former patients gave testimony about Dr Murray's medical skills, and described him as a kind and generous physician.

Ms Mosley (she met Dr Murray when he opened his clinic in Acres Home, where most residents were elderly and on fixed incomes) said of Dr Murray:

"If this man was greedy he never would have come to the community."

Another former patient, Gerry Causey, said:

"The reason I came here to help Dr Murray is I know his love, his compassion, his feeling for his patients, every one of them and I just don't think he did what he's accused of doing."

Andrew Guest testified:

"I'm alive today because of that man. That man sitting there is the best doctor I've ever seen."

The trial continues.

Those spectators outside of the court who have expressed vitriol towards Dr Murray would do well to remember that (whether he is found guilty or not of the charges made against him) those who show compassion deserve to be treated with compassion when they face tribulations.

Jackson Asked For Drug

2011-10-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Cherilyn Lee, a nurse, gave testimony at the trial of Dr Conrad Murray.

She tearfully stated that she had warned Michael Jackson against using propofol.

"He was sitting very close to me.

He looked at me and said, 'I have a lot of difficulty sleeping. I've tried a lot of things and I need something that will make me fall asleep right away.

I need Dipravan."

The trial continues.

Prosecution Rests

2011-10-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

The prosecution in the trial of Dr Conrad Murray is now resting. Dr Murray's defence team are now in the "driving seat".

Yesterday Dr Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, challenged Dr Steven Shafer's theory that there was no way that Michael Jackson could have killed himself by self administering Lorazepam and propofol.

Dr Shafer stuck to his guns, and reittereated that in his view it was not possible that Jackson killed himself.

Alex Supall, who visited Jackson's home the evening after his death, discussed the security and surveillance systems set up at Jackson's home. The defence asked Mr Supall why he had only submitted a few minutes of footage to the investigation. The rationale apparently being that Mr Supall had copied Jackson's arrival in order to establish a timeline for his return home.

The trial continues.

Defence Question Dr Shafer

2011-10-22T03:09:00.001-07:00

Dr Conrad Murray's defence lawyer, Ed Chernoff, cross-examined Dr Steven Shafer in court.

Mr Chernoff questioned Dr Shafer's contention that Michael Jackson had been hooked up to an IV drip of the anesthetic propofol, and was then left alone by Dr Conrad Murray.

"That's a bold claim, isn't it?" Mr Chernoff asked.

Dr Shafer replied:

"It's an honest statement."

Mr Chernoff went on to suggest that Dr Shafer had drawn conclusions that were not necessarily supported by the evidence. Mr Chernoff said the type of IV line that Dr Shafer used in a demonstration for the jury was never found at Jackson's house.

Crazy!

2011-10-21T01:32:00.001-07:00

Dr Steven Shafer continued to give evidence at the trail of Dr Conrad Muraay yesterday.

He told the court that Michael Jackson was so heavily sedated shortly before he died, that he could not have possibly self-administered an additional, lethal dose of propofol.

He dismissed suggestions by the defence that Jackson self administered the drug as "crazy".

Dr Shafer also suggested that Dr Murray gave Jackson 100ml of propofol, a much larger amount than the 25ml Dr Murray claims that he administered.

Quote:

"This fits all of the data in this case and I am not aware of a single piece of data that is inconsistent with this explanation."

The trial continues.

"Clueless" in "Never-Never Land"

2011-10-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

The trial of Dr Conrad Murray has resumed, and Dr Steven Shafer has returned to the witness box.

In Dr Shafer's view Dr Murray made 17 flagrant violations when administering propofol to Michael Jackson. Dr Shafer told the court that the drug should never be used to treat insomnia, and Dr Conrad Murray's negligence was directly responsible for Jackson's death.

He went on to castigate Dr Murray as being "clueless" about the drug.

Dr Shafer sated that Dr Murray did not know how to respond when Jackson stopped breathing, and was dumbfounded by the delay in calling 911:

"I almost don't know what to say. That is so completely and utterly inexcusable."

Wrt using propofol as a sleeping aid, Dr Shafer said caustically:

"We are in pharmacological never-never land here, something that was done to Michael Jackson and no one else in history to my knowledge..

A competent doctor would know you do not do this."

The trial continues.

Further Delay To Trial

2011-10-18T02:58:00.001-07:00

The trial of Dr Conrad Murray has been put on hold at least until Wednesday, in order to give defence council the time to study new lab test results wrt the contents of Michael Jackson's stomach.

The prosecution contends that the results show that that Jackson did not orally ingest a fatal overdose of lorazepam (a sedative).

The Los Angeles County coroner tested Jackson's stomach contents for lorazepam last Wednesday, at the request of the prosecution.

The defence have contended that Jackson orally ingested 8 tablets on the day he died.

The trial will resume, at the earliest on Wednesday.