Dr. Murray considers testifying about Michael Jackson's death
By Alan Duke, CNN
November 1, 2011 -- Updated 0719 GMT (1519 HKT)
VIDEO im Bericht STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Dr. Conrad Murray must tell the judge Tuesday morning if he will testify
* Murray told the judge Monday he's undecided about taking the stand
* Testimony in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial is expected to end Tuesday
* Closing arguments and jury deliberations could come Thursday
Story Highlights
* Dr. Conrad Murray muss dem Richter am Dienstagmorgen sagen, ob er aussagen wird
* Murray erzählte dem Richter am Montag, dass er unentschlossen ist, ob er in den Zeugenstand tritt
* Zeugenaussagen im Murrays Prozess wegen fahrlässiger Tötung werden voraussichtlich am Diestag enden
* Schlussplädoyers und Jury-Überlegungen könnten am Donnerstag kommen
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Dr. Conrad Murray will tell the judge in his involuntary manslaughter trial Tuesday morning if he will take the stand to defend himself against the charge that he is criminally responsible for Michael Jackson's death.
If Murray chooses to remain silent, testimony in the trial is likely to end Tuesday and closing arguments will be delivered Thursday, the judge said.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor appeared surprised Monday afternoon when Murray told him he still has not decided if he will testify and he needed more time to confer with his lawyers.
Pastor gave him until the start of court Tuesday to decide since it is likely to be the last day for testimony in the trial.
The prosecution contends that Murray's use of the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat Jackson's insomnia in his home deviated from the standards of care expected of a doctor so egregiously that it was criminal.
If Murray wants jurors to hear his version of what happened the day the world's biggest pop star died under his care, it would be at the risk of intensive cross-examination by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney David Walgren.
Walgren proved his cross-examination skills again Monday in a fiery battle with Dr. Paul White over the defense anesthesiology expert's theory that Michael Jackson died from drugs he gave himself.
White's bruises in the battle included a contempt of court citation and a $1,000 fine after he ignored repeated warnings from the judge not to refer to his personal conversations with Murray.
Walgren insisted that White answer his questions based only on what he knew from Murray's interview with police, not what Murray told him privately. It otherwise would have been a way for the defense to introduce statements from the defendant without him having to testify.
"Nice try," Pastor told the defense as he ruled they couldn't do that.
Walgren spent much of Monday trying to discredit what White said during his testimony Friday, and getting the defense expert to support the prosecution's argument that Murray's treatment of Jackson was reckless.
White conceded that Murray deviated from the standards of care, but he would not agree that they were so "egregious and extreme" that they make Murray criminally responsible for Jackson's death. Murray's deviations were "perhaps between minor and serious, but it's not extreme," he said.
Walgren also was successful in getting White to agree that he would not have done what Murray did -- take the job of sedating Jackson nearly every night at home with propofol.
"No amount of money" could get him to take the job, White said. "Absolutely not," he testified. "That would be a job I would never consider accepting."
The prosecution contends greed led Murray to leave his medical practice and put his ethics aside to serve as Jackson's private doctor for $150,000 a month.
But the biggest battle between Walgren and White was fought over the competing theories of how Jackson died and the scientific evidence that supports them.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Jackson's June 25, 2009, death was caused by "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with two sedatives.
White concluded that the level of drugs found in Jackson's stomach, blood and urine, convinced him that Jackson died after he rapidly injected himself with propofol on top of a large dose of lorazepam he swallowed hours earlier.
The prosecution's propofol expert, Dr. Steven Shafer, concluded the "only scenario" that fits the scientific evidence is that Jackson was on a constant IV drip of propofol for three hours before his death.
Shafer also testified that Murray must have also injected Jackson with a series of large doses of lorazepam, a sedative, hours before his death.
White theorized that Jackson could have "pushed" the drug into an catheter in his leg using a syringe over a 15- to 30-second period, much faster than a doctor would have done. "I believe it could potentially have lethal consequences," White testified.
Under cross-examination Monday, White said he believed Jackson used the same syringe Murray had loaded with propofol an hour earlier to give Jackson a 25-milligram injection. Murray filled it with 50-milligrams initially, leaving it half-filled in Jackson's bedroom, under White's theory.
White ruled out the possibility that Murray would have injected the fatal dose unless "he wanted to potentially harm Mr. Jackson."
Walgren asked White if he thought Jackson intended to harm himself.
"I don't think he realized the potential danger," White replied.
The defense contends Jackson was desperate for sleep, fearing his comeback concerts would be canceled if he missed another rehearsal from lack of rest.
Walgren pressed White for an opinion about Murray's decision to leave Jackson alone with a syringe of propofol, considering he should have known Jackson had "pushed" a syringe of propofol before.
"No, I would not leave the room," he said.
Prosecutors contend Murray is responsible for Jackson's death, even if he did not give him the final and fatal dose, because he was reckless in using the surgical anesthetic to help Jackson sleep without proper precautions.
White is expected to be back on the witness stand for a short time Tuesday morning, before the defense calls a scientist with a background in bio-engineering to explain charts outlining propofol levels found in Jackson's urine.
The prosecution indicated it would recall Shafer to answer a few more questions in rebuttal to White before both sides rest in the trial that started in late September.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/01/justice/california-conrad-murray-trial/
) alter Flanagan gestern keine Chance mehr.
