February 2, 2010
Walgren charging Michael Jackson's doctor with involuntary manslaughter imminent
David Walgren, the deputy Los Angeles County district attorney charged with handling the Michael Jackson case has opted to proceed with a criminal complaint of involuntary manslaughter rather than attempt to obtain a grand jury indictment.
This means that the public would have a chance to look at the evidence which is placed before a judge who would then decide whether Dr Conrad Murray should stand trial. If he had gone by way of grand jury it would have been held behind closed doors. In the present case the need for transparency, to reassure the singer's millions of fans that justice is seen to be done, is vital.
Mark Geragos, a private criminal defense attorney who represented Jackson when he was facing charges of child molestation, said the decision suggests prosecutors are unsure they could persuade a grand jury that Murray was criminally liable for Jackson's death.
"This may be one of those rare cases where a grand jury of citizens is not ready to attach criminal liability to the doctor," Geragos said. "They may feel they are better off in front of a judge."
In truth and probably closer to the reality of this case Harland Braun, a celebrity defense attorney, disagrees saying that the move shows that prosecutors are confident that their evidence and witnesses could withstand cross-examination and public scrutiny. This would not be the case before a grand jury.
"It's really a test run on a case," Braun said. "Both sides get to know what the strengths and weaknesses of the case are."
As things stand there is no specific date set for the bringing of the charges but sources close to the LAPD say that this is now a matter of days or weeks rather than months. They have been briefing the DA for awhile now and indications are that it will be very soon because Murray and his lawyer Edward Chernoff have traveled to Los Angeles from Houston.
Chernoff has told the media that his client has never hidden away and will turn himself in immediately upon being requested to do so.
Involuntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought. It is distinguished from voluntary manslaughter by the absence of intention. Most unintentional killings are not murder but involuntary manslaughter. The absence of the element of intent is the key distinguishing factor between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. In most states in the U.S. involuntary manslaughter results from an improper use of reasonable care or skill while performing a legal act, or while committing an act that is unlawful but not felonious.
There are two types of involuntary manslaughter statutes: criminally negligent manslaughter and unlawful act manslaughter. Criminally negligent manslaughter occurs when death results from a high degree of negligence or recklessness. Modern criminal codes generally require a consciousness of risk and under some codes the absence of this element makes the offense a less serious homicide.
An omission to act or a failure to perform a duty constitutes criminally negligent manslaughter. The existence of the duty is essential.
In the Michael Jackson case to sustain a charge of involuntary manslaughter prosecutors will have to show that there was a reckless action by Dr Murray that created a risk of death or serious bodily injury. In addition if he was aware of the risk, whether the singer knew about that risk and decided to take it.
The former King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had hired Murray as his personal physician as he began preparing for a strenuous series of comeback performances starting in London.
On June the 25th just weeks after breaking the news of his comeback the world woke up to the staggering news that Jackson was dead.
Murray was at the time at the star's rented mansion, and had administered the powerful anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
As a result they ruled the death a homicide because Propofol is only supposed to be administered by an anesthesia professional in a medical setting. The patient requires constant monitoring because the drug depresses breathing and heart rate while also lowering blood pressure, a potentially deadly
combination.
Murray claims that the drugs that he gave the singer should not have killed Jackson and that he was entitled to administer Propofol. One of the key issues relating to the charges is however whether he followed the required procedures while Jackson was under the influence of the drugs.
In this regard much of the evidence gathered by the LAPD involved talking to numerous medical experts to determine whether Murray's behavior, which included talking on his cell phone and leaving Jackson's bedside, fell outside the bounds of reasonable medical practice.
