Започва се...

Expert says Michael Jackson was too heavily drugged to self-administer the drug propofol
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/jackson-doctors-attorneys-to-question-key-prosecution-witness-who-faults-physicians-care/2011/10/20/gIQAI0QgzL_story.html

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson was so heavily drugged in the hours before his death that he would have been incapable of self-administering the massive dose of propofol that killed him, a medical expert testified Thursday at the trial of Jackson’s doctor.

Dr. Steven Shafer, who presented a number of possible scenarios for Jackson’s overdose, said one posed by Dr. Conrad Murray’s defense — that the star gave himself the powerful anesthetic — is “crazy.”

“He can’t give himself an injection if he’s asleep,” Shafer told jurors.

The more likely scenario was that Murray placed Jackson on an IV propofol drip on the morning of his death then left the room as the singer slept, Shafer said.

Jackson probably stopped breathing before Murray returned, and the singer’s lungs emptied while the propofol kept flowing into his body, even after he was dead, the witness said.

“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,” Shafer said.

He suggested Murray infused Jackson with the full contents of a 100 milliliter bottle of the drug with a flow that was regulated only by gravity because the doctor lacked dose regulating equipment. Murray claimed he gave Jackson only 25 milligrams over a period of three to five minutes.

Jurors stood up to get a better view as Shafer used an IV pole and apparatus for a courtroom demonstration. He dribbled the drug into a trash can so they could see how it moved through the tubing.

Earlier, Shafer took the jury through a virtual chemistry class with diagrams and formulas projected on a large screen. He indicated the residue of drugs found during Jackson’s autopsy suggested Murray gave his patient much larger doses of sedatives than he told police.

He also said Jackson would have been extremely groggy from the drugs administered by IV throughout the night.

Murray told police he was away from Jackson for just two minutes — a period during which the defense says the singer could have grabbed a syringe and given himself additional propofol.

“People don’t just wake up from anesthesia hell bent to pick up a syringe and pump it into the IV,” Shafer said, reminding the jury that the procedure was complicated. “It’s a crazy scenario.”

He also said it was unlikely that Jackson injected himself with a needle because the pop star’s veins were too deteriorated and the procedure would have been extremely painful.

Witnesses have said Jackson knew the drug had to be diluted with lidocaine in an IV to prevent burning when it entered the veins.

Shafer, a leading expert on anesthesiology who teaches at Columbia University Medical School, also rejected the claim that Jackson may have swallowed eight pills of the sedative lorazepam, also known as Ativan, causing his death.

Shafer said the amount of lorazepam found in Jackson’s stomach was “trivial” and not linked to oral ingestion. He suggested Murray gave Jackson much more lorazepam by IV infusion than the four milligrams he said he did.

After receiving lorazepam, another sedative known as midazolam (Versed) and propofol, Jackson would have been too groggy to handle the infusion of more anesthetic through an IV pump, Shafer said.

His opinions set up an expected clash with the views of his colleague, Dr. Paul White, who was waiting to testify for the defense. The men have been friends and associates for 30 years.

White, who sat in the courtroom taking notes, has suggested to the defense in a written report that Jackson might have swallowed a vial of propofol, accounting for the high level of the drug in his autopsy.

But the defense announced last week it had abandoned the theory in May after running its own tests that disproved the theory.

Coroner’s officials determined Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from acute propofol intoxication, and Murray has acknowledged giving the singer the drug as a sleep aid. The officials cited other sedatives as a contributing factor.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutor David Walgren concluded his nearly three-day examination of Shafer, with the witness saying Murray was “a direct cause of Michael Jackson’s death’” even if Jackson administered a drug to himself.

“He is responsible for every drop of propofol in that room, every drop of lorazepam in that room,” Shafer said.

The trial was recessed until Friday afternoon.

Propofol expert on Murray's defense team is replaced



Los Angeles (CNN) -- Cross-examination of the prosecution's anesthesiology expert is crucial for Dr. Conrad Murray, but his defense team's most knowledgeable lawyer when it comes to propofol will sit on the sideline Friday.

Michael Flanagan, who has handled the previous medical experts, has been replaced by lead defense lawyer Ed Chernoff for the questioning of Dr. Steven Shafer, Chernoff told the judge in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial Thursday. The defense did not cite a reason.

Murray appeared visibly shaken by Shafer's testimony Thursday, especially when the prosecution's expert demonstrated to jurors how he believes Murray set up an IV drip to give singer Michael Jackson the drugs that killed him.

Jackson died because Murray failed to notice that his patient had stopped breathing while he was hooked up to an IV drip of the surgical anesthetic propofol, Shafer testified. The doctor should have realized Jackson had stopped breathing about 11:45 a.m. on June 25, 2009, he said.

"When you're there, you see it, you know it," Shafer said.

Phone records and testimony showed that Murray was on the phone with one of his clinics, a patient, and then a girlfriend about the time that Shafer calculated the oxygen in Jackson's lungs became depleted, causing his heart to stop beating.

Expert details how he thinks Jackson died
'Heated' discussion in the court hallway
Doctor: Oral propofol death not possible
Katherine Jackson 'pleased' with case

"Had Conrad Murray been with Michael Jackson during this period of time, he would have seen the slowed breathing and the compromise in the flow of air into Michael Jackson's lungs, and he could have easily turned off the propofol infusion," Shafer said.

Murray could have then easily cleared Jackson's airways and restored his breathing by lifting his chin, he said.

Earlier testimony from paramedics and emergency room doctors said Jackson was clinically dead by the time an ambulance arrived at the pop icon's Los Angeles home nearly a half-hour after Murray realized there was a problem.

The last three prosecution experts, all medical experts, focused the Murray trial on the science surrounding Jackson's death, a contrast to earlier testimony from Murray's girlfriends and Jackson employees.

After the defense cross-examination of Shafer on Friday afternoon, Murray's lawyers will start calling witnesses, including their own anesthesiology expert.

Shafer demonstrated for the jury Thursday how he believed Murray set up the propofol infusion by hanging a 100-milliliter vial from a stand with tubing attached that would have led to a catheter port in Jackson's left leg.

"This is the only scenario that I could generate" that would produce the high level of propofol found in Jackson's blood during his autopsy, Shafer said.

"This fits all of the data in this case, and I am not aware of any data that is inconsistent with this explanation," he said.

Shafer examined and ruled out other scenarios, including Jackson injecting himself with propofol or Murray administering a fatal dose with a syringe. Computer model projections could not identify a scenario that would duplicate the high blood levels found, he said.

Although Murray told police he used an IV drip to give Jackson propofol on previous nights, the defense contends that he did not use it the day Jackson died. Instead, they say, Murray put Jackson to sleep about 10:40 a.m. with a single injection.

Sometime after that, Jackson woke and used a syringe to inject himself, the defense contends.

Shafer said the theory makes no sense.

"People just don't wake up hell-bent to grab the next dose in a syringe, draw it up and shove it in their IV again," Shafer said. "It's just a crazy scenario."

The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Jackson's death was caused by a combination of sedatives with the propofol, which Murray admitted in a police interview that he used to help Jackson sleep.

The defense contends that Jackson swallowed eight lorazepam tablets, a claim based on testing of lorazepam levels in Jackson's stomach contents. Shafer discredited the defense lab tests, saying a new test showed the equivalent of only "1/43rd of a tablet" of the sedative in the stomach.

The level of lorazepam in Jackson's blood was far higher than what would be expected based on the dosages Dr. Murray told detectives he gave Jackson in the hours before his death, Shafer said.

Murray said he gave Jackson a total of 4 milligrams of lorazepam in two separate doses starting 10 hours before his death. Toxicology results indicated that Jackson was given 40 milligrams -- not four -- in a series of 10 doses, he said.

Although the defense recently abandoned the theory that Jackson may have swallowed propofol, the prosecution still worked to use its old theory to discredit Dr. Paul White, the anesthesiologist who will testify soon for the defense.

A report prepared by White in March concluded that oral ingestion of propofol could have killed Jackson, but Shafer testified that it ignores the "first pass effect" that is taught to first-year medical students.

The liver is a "powerful mechanism" for filtering propofol from the digestive tract so that only a very small percentage can reach the blood, Shafer said.

Shafer cited several studies on rats, mice, piglets, dogs, monkeys and humans that he said proves swallowing propofol would have no effect.

"There was no sedation at any time following oral consumption of propofol," Shafer said, describing the results of research he commissioned on university students in Chile over the summer.

The human study was done not only to prepare for the Jackson trial, Shafer said, but also to counter an effort by the Drug Enforcement Agency to consider tighter restrictions on propofol.

The drug is not currently a controlled substance, but publicity over the theory that Jackson's death might have been caused by oral ingestion prompted federal regulators to considered a new requirement that "it to be handled almost like morphine," he said.

"Patients will be hurt if it is restricted," he said. "Anesthesiologists have to have ready access."

The new study assures that if the drug is abused, it would be done only with the intravenous route, which only health care providers have, he said.

Shafer testified Wednesday that Jackson would be alive now but for 17 "egregious deviations" by Murray from the standard of care required of physicians.

Murray's use of propofol almost every night for two months to help Jackson sleep was so unusual, there is no documentation on the dangers, Shafer said.

"We are in pharmacological never-neverland here," Shafer said, "something that's only been done to Michael Jackson."

The trial, in its fourth week, is expected to conclude with the start of jury deliberations near the end of next week.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/21/justice/california-conrad-murray-trial/

Conrad Murray Defense Attacks Witness' Theory on Michael Jackson's Death

Dr. Conrad Murray's defense today attacked a key prosecution witness' scenario on how Murray could have been responsible for the death of singer Michael Jackson.

But in a sidebar session, it was a prospective witness for Murray's defense under attack, being excoriated by Judge Michael Pastor for apparently denouncing either a prosecution witness or a prosecutor as a "scumbag" within earshot of reporters, possibly in contempt of court.

Murray is on trial in Los Angeles Superior Court for involuntary manslaughter involving Jackson's death.

The prosecution witness, Dr. Steven Shafer, an anesthesiologist affiliated with Columbia University, has testified in recent days that Murray most likely hooked up Jackson to an IV drip containing the anesthetic propofol and then left the singer unattended.

Shafer added today that even if Jackson were able to start the IV drip on his own, Murray still would be responsible for the death.

"If Michael Jackson had reached up, seeing the roller clamp, and opened [it] himself, this is a foreseeable consequence of setting up a dangerous way of giving drug [and] is in no way exculpatory for the fact that Dr. Murray was not present and permitted this to happen," Shafer said.

But then the defense took its shots, questioning whether Shafer was using medical knowledge or actually doing investigative work beyond his expertise when he came up with his theory on Jackson's death.

"Everything you said in the last two days was your opinion," defense attorney Ed Chernoff told Shafer at one point. "You do understand that, right? Do you understand that?"

Answered Shafer, "I stated my name, which I think is a matter of fact."

Shafer's theory relied on Murray using a vented IV -- which would let air into the propofol bottle, allowing it to drip.

However, Chernoff noted, there was no such vented IV line found in the bedroom where Jackson was discovered unconscious.

Shafer maintained that Seacoast Medical records showed Murray had ordered vented IV's in the past, and that the IV tubing was small enough that it could have been easily removed from the room.

Later, Chernoff pressed Shafer for the corroborating evidence he used to come up with his theory that Murray put a propofol bottle in a cut-open saline bag to set up a propofol drip -- a set-up that Shafer admitted he had never seen before.

Chernoff got Shafer to concede that he relied on an earlier witness, Alberto Alvarez, who said he had seen such a set-up before stashing it in a blue bag.

The defense has attacked Alvarez's credibility on the claim he handled the IV bag because there were no fingerprints.

After Murray's defense concludes its cross-examination of Shafer next week, the prosecution is expected to rest its case and let the defense present its case.

But a prospective defense witness already faced heat today over his alleged statements, published by E! online, in possible violation of a gag order.

As Shafer demonstrated Thursday how Murray could have administered propofol to Jackson, E! reported, Murray could be heard whispering loudly to the possible witness, Dr. Paul White, "Can you believe that?" At which point, according to E!, White turned to journalists and said, "What a scumbag."

It was unclear whether White was referring to Shafer or prosecutor David Walgren.

Possible Conrad Murray Defense Witness in Contempt of Court?

But today, outside of the presence of jurors, Judge Pastor set a Nov. 16 hearing to determine whether White should be held in contempt of court.

In addition to his complaint about the "scumbag" remark, Walgren complained to the judge that White has been caught on TV cameras reacting to testimony -- "the rolling of the eyes and facial expressions, things of that nature," Walgren said, according to a transcript.

White and other medical experts have been allowed to attend court sessions to inform their possible testimony, but without publicly commenting.

"I don't want to harm Dr. Murray or defense counsel in this case by excluding Dr. White at this juncture if defense counsel still want him here," Pastor said in the transcript, "because I have to balance my concern about decorum with the defendant's right to a fair trial. But this may very well constitute a violation of the court's order."

"I'm going to talk to him," replied Chernoff, the defense attorney. "I'm embarrassed by this. You should hold me personally responsible."

Later, though, Pastor himself focused his anger on White in another sidebar session.

White said he could not recall his "scumbag" comment, but recalled making other statements to reporters and to Walgren, according to a transcript.

"You have no business making any of those comments, Dr. White," Pastor told him, "either to Mr. Walgren or in this courtroom where such comments can be overheard. This raises the issue of whether those comments constitute a violation of my continuing orders in this case, repeated on innumerable occasions.

"If you want to retain counsel, that is your absolute right, and anybody else who wants to be heard," Pastor added. "But I'm going to set it for further proceedings to determine if I should sanction you or even cite you for contempt of court."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/MichaelJackson/conrad-murray-defense-attacks-witness-theory-michael-jacksons/story?id=14790261

Michael Jackson's family unites as Murray trial nears end

Los Angeles (CNN) -- With the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor entering what could be its last week, Janet Jackson canceled shows in Australia to be with her family in Los Angeles.

Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers will use the next four days to challenge the prosecution's contention that his reckless use of the surgical anesthesia propofol to help Jackson sleep makes him criminally responsible for the pop icon's death.

Janet Jackson sat with her parents and several siblings during the first five days of the trial, but she has not been at court in nearly three weeks.

"After talking with my family last night, I decided we must be together right now," she said in a statement posted Sunday on her website, announcing that three shows this week in Melbourne are canceled.

The concert promoter told Jackson fans it was "important that Janet is with her family at this critical point in the hearing."

If her flight arrives in Los Angeles before Monday morning, Jackson may see the last hours of the prosecution's key witness, anesthesiologist expert Dr. Steven Shafer.

The defense cross-examination of Shafer grew so heated and personal Friday that the judge called lawyers for a sidebar and ordered them to "cut it out!"

The defense is expected to begin presenting its case later Monday.

Murray's lawyers have said they plan to call about 15 witnesses, including three medical experts, a police officer and several of Murray's patients from his clinics in Las Vegas, Nevada and Houston.

Randy Phillips, the head of AEG Live, is set to be among the first witnesses the defense calls.

Murray's lawyers have argued that Jackson was pressured by Phillips, whose company was promoting his comeback concerts in London, to show up healthy and on time for rehearsals or else the tour might be canceled.

Murray told detectives Jackson begged for his "milk," his nickname for propofol, after a sleepless night and just hours before he died from what the coroner said was an overdose of the surgical anesthetic.

Murray, in a police interview, said he was using sedatives to wean Jackson from propofol, which he had used almost every night for two months to fight his insomnia. But after a long, restless night and morning, the lorazepam and midazolam had no effect, Murray said.

"I've got to sleep, Dr. Conrad," Murray said Jackson pleaded to him. "I have these rehearsals to perform. I must be ready for the show in England. Tomorrow, I will have to cancel my performance, because you know I cannot function if I don't get to sleep."

Murray said he gave into Jackson's pleas and gave him an injection of 25 milliliters of propofol at about 10:40 a.m.

Shafer testified last week that there was no way Jackson got only that amount of propofol, based on the high level of the drug found in blood taken during his autopsy.

The "only scenario" to explain Jackson's death was that he overdosed on propofol infused through an IV drip set up by Murray, Shafer said.

The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide, the result of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with sedatives.

The defense contends Jackson self-administered the fatal dose, along with sedatives, without Murray knowing.

Shafer said the level of propofol in Jackson's blood taken during his autopsy could not have been from either Murray or Jackson injecting the drug, but only from an IV system that was still flowing when his heart stopped.

Prosecutors, however, opened the door for one scenario in which Jackson, not Murray, could have triggered the overdose.

"Can you rule out the possibility that Michael Jackson manipulated something to cause it to flow?" Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked Friday.

"That's a possibility," Shafer said. But that is assuming Murray set up the drip and left Jackson's side, he said.

Would Shafer's opinion that Murray was responsible for Jackson's death change if he knew Jackson turned the drip on?

"No, if Michael Jackson had reached up, seen the roller clamp and opened it himself, this is a foreseeable consequence of setting up an essentially dangerous way of giving drugs," Shafer said. "It doesn't change things at all. It would still be considered abandonment."

Defense lawyer Ed Chernoff cross-examined Shafer about the assumptions he used to reconstruct an IV drip system he believed Murray set up next to Jackson's bed. Shafer demonstrated the system in his testimony Thursday.

Jackson died because Murray failed to notice that his patient had stopped breathing while he was hooked up to an IV drip of propofol, Shafer testified. The doctor should have realized Jackson had stopped breathing, he said.

"When you're there, you see it, you know it," Shafer said.

Phone records and testimony showed that Murray was on the phone with one of his clinics, a patient, and then a girlfriend about the time that Shafer calculated the oxygen in Jackson's lungs became depleted, causing his heart to stop beating.

"Had Conrad Murray been with Michael Jackson during this period of time, he would have seen the slowed breathing and the compromise in the flow of air into Michael Jackson's lungs, and he could have easily turned off the propofol infusion," Shafer said.

Toxicology studies of drugs in Jackson's blood and computer models Shafer used to analyze how the singer died were overshadowed Friday when Chernoff focused on the personal and professional rivalry between Shafer and Dr. Paul White, the defense anesthesiology expert.

The experts first met in 1978 when White was an assistant professor at Stanford University and Shafer was a medical student. They became friends and co-authored research papers, but this trial appears to have changed their friendship.

Chernoff accused Shafer of wanting to "shove it down his (White's) professional throat" in a question stricken from the record by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor.

White, who has been sitting in the courtroom listening to Shafer's testimony, was lectured by Judge Pastor about comments about Shafer attributed to him in an online blog.

White admitted Friday that he told a reporter that he had changed his opinion of Shafer after hearing his testimony Thursday. "The truth will come out. It always does," E! News Online quoted White as saying.

White denied calling Shafer "a scumbag," as the website quoted him as saying.

Pastor, who imposed a gag order on all parties in the trial, set a contempt of court hearing for White next month.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/24/justice/california-conrad-murray-trial/

Propofol Expert Claims Michael Jackson Gave Himself Fatal Injection

By JIM AVILA (@JimAvilaABC) and CHRISTINA NG
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28, 2011

The final defense witness in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor was an expert in the anesthetic propofol who told the court today that he believes the pop star gave himself a fatal injection of the drug.

Dr. Paul White also said he saw no evidence of the prosecution's theory that Jackson died from an overdose of propofol adminstered through an IV drip that was set up by Conrad.

But he also said that Murray should not have left the room with Jackson under the influence of propofol.

White was the last witness for Conrad, who the prosecution blames for Jackson's death by giving him too much propofol and not properly monitoring Jackson while administering propofol.

The defense team contends that Murray was trying to wean Jackson off of propofol. They allege Jackson wanted propofol because he was suffering from insomnia brought on by withdrawal from the painkiller Demerol.

At the time of his death, Jackson was preparing for his "This is It" world tour, and exhaustion from that preparation also allegedly contributed to his insomnia.

White is not through testifying, though. He is expected to be called back to the stand and aggressively cross examined by prosecutors when the trial resumes Monday morning.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Wednesday.

White, said today that the level of propofol Murray claims he gave Jackson on day of his death June 25, 2009 was "not at all" dangerous.

"It would produce a little anxiety relief and little sleepiness," he said.

And he did not see evidence of Jackson getting a high amount of propofol through an IV, which he said would leave a white film in the IV bag and the line. White said he did not find anything like that in the bag and line used by Jackson that day.

White said the amount of propofol found inJackson's body, about 25 mg, suggests it was injected and he concluded that Jackson would have been able to inject himself in the short time that Murray left him alone.

"Would a person who had an IV in place and was conscious be capable of injecting the bolis of 25 g of propofol?" White was asked.

"Yes, of course," he replied.

When pressed again with the question, "You think it was a self-injection of propofol near 11:30 or 12 [p.m.] that...." defense lawyer J. Michael Flanagan asked, finishing the question with hand and face gesture to indicate Jackson's death.

"In my opinion, yes," White replied.

The defense hopes White was be able to put reasonable doubt in the minds of at least some jurors as to whether Murray is responsble for Jackons's death.

Early in White's testimony, which began Thursday, he denounced the prosecution's premise that Murray administered a fatal dose of propofol to Jackson on the morning of his death.

"I read all these documents and was perplexed that the determination had been made that Dr. Murray was infusing propofol, because in my examination of the documents and evidence, it wasn't obvious to me," White said.

"The defense is in a tough spot," said ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams. "When all you have to do is hope that at least one juror thinks that there's reasonable doubt, the defense still has hope -- at least on cause of death, rather than negligence."

Earlier in the week, Murray's legal team brought in a series of witnesses who testified how Jackson would beg them to provide him with propofol, the only drug that he said would allow him to sleep.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/conrad-murray-trial-defense-witness-jackson-administered-fatal/story?id=14834902

Judge: Trial is taking too long



The judge apologized to jurors Friday for delays in the trial before releasing them for the weekend.

"We are past the date I told you your services would be over," Judge Michael Pastor said. "But I know all of you understand that things happen in cases... I recognize the sacrifices you're making. So please continue to hang in there and enjoy your weekend."

During a chambers meeting with lawyers on Thursday, prosecutor David Walgren asked the judge for more time to consider new evidence submitted by the defense. The evidence includes new simulations from defense expert Dr. Paul White, which show the possible effects of the drugs that were in Michael Jackson's system the day he died.

Walgren called the graphs of the new simulations, "hieroglyphics."

Judge Pastor acknowledged Walgren's concerns, but said he's worried about changing the schedule because the jurors have lives and commitments outside of the trial. Walgren said that losing jurors to scheduling conflicts is a risk the state is prepared to take.

Judge Pastor granted the state to begin their cross examination of Dr. White on Monday, giving them the weekend to examine the new defense evidence.

Once Dr. White's testimony is concluded, we expect that the defense will rest. After the defense rests, the prosecution will likely present some sort of rebuttal case.

If things go more quickly than anticipated, closings in the trial could still be Monday. That scenario, however, now seems remote.

If testimony continues into or concludes on Monday – which is certainly possible – then closings in the case could be Tuesday.

But it's also possible that Tuesday could be a dark day, to give the attorneys time to prepare their closing arguments. If that happens, then closings would be delivered on Wednesday.

http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/28/judge-trial-is-taking-too-long/

Dr. Murray considers testifying about Michael Jackson's death



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.

Сега чакаме да разберем, дали негово височество Мъри иска да свидетелства или не. Скоро бях гледала един филм и там адвоката казваше на онзи когото защитава, че не може да го остави да свидетелства, ако знае, че той лъже и не може да провежда разпита му, защото е противозаконно. Чудя се, дали адвокатите на Мъри не осъзнават колко е сгафил той? Задавам реторичен въпрос, знам. Не се надпреварвайте да ми отговаряте.

Michael Jackson's bodyguards speak out, defend Murray

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two of Michael Jackson's former bodyguards are speaking out in defense of Dr. Conrad Murray, saying he is not a criminal.
It was something heard from Murray's defense team: Other doctors provided Jackson with powerful prescription drugs, and Murray was being blamed for Jackson's dependency to those other drugs.

Now Javon Beard and Bill Whitfield are saying the same thing.
"We know if he was alive, he would not want Dr. Conrad Murray to be on trial," Beard said. "There's no way in hell that he wanted to kill Michael Jackson. Why would he kill his paycheck?"
Jackson's former bodyguards shared new details about Jackson's relationship with Murray.

"The relationship that him and Mr. Conrad Murray had on our watch, they were more friends," Beard said.
Murray is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say his negligence caused Jackson's death, but Jackson's former bodyguards say the testimony has unfairly vilified Murray. "Seeing how only Dr. Murray is being pointed out, I look at the trial and see, you know, that courtroom would not be big enough to hold everyone in it that we feel would be accountable," Whitfield said.

In an interview with an ABC reporter in Las Vegas, Beard and Whitfield both said they're convinced that someone other than Murray was medicating Jackson during the daytime to help him prepare for what was a demanding rehearsal schedule.
"Dr. Murray may have helped Mr. Jackson sleep. We certainly believe that there were certainly other doctors that helped him stay up," Whitfield said. "It's way bigger than Dr. Conrad Murray," Beard said. "That's no question in our minds."

But Murray is the only man on trial, and as the jury decides on his guilt or innocence, Jackson's former bodyguards say they wish they had been there the morning the singer died.
Any verdict reached has to be unanimous. Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison and lose his medical license.