California court won’t review Jackson doctor case
In this Friday, Oct. 21, 2011 file photo, Michael Jackson’s former doctor Conrad Murray sits in a courtroom during his involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles.The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday April 23, 2014, to review the involuntary manslaughter conviction of Michael Jackson’s doctor, rejecting his lawyer’s petition without comment. AP
LOS ANGELES — The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the involuntary manslaughter conviction of Michael Jackson’s doctor, rejecting his lawyer’s petition without comment.
The decision by the state’s highest court was the latest stop on Dr. Conrad Murray’s legal odyssey. A state appeals court upheld his conviction earlier this year and then refused to reconsider its decision.
Attorney Valerie Waas said Murray will take his fight to federal court.
“We’re greatly disappointed but we intend to pursue this in federal court,” Waas said.
She said she telephoned Murray with the news and, “He said, ‘The fight is not over.'”
Authorities said Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009 while the singer prepared for a series of comeback concerts.
Murray was convicted in 2011 and served two years in jail. He was released in October due to a change in California law requiring nonviolent offenders to serve their sentences in county jails and as a result of credits for good behavior.
The six-week trial focused on Murray’s care of Jackson, including nightly doses of propofol to help the entertainer sleep.
The earlier appellate court decision said, “The evidence demonstrated that Mr. Jackson was a vulnerable victim and that (Murray) was in a position of trust, and that (Murray) violated the trust relationship by breaching standards of professional conduct in numerous respects.”
Since his release, Murray has been traveling and spending time with family, “trying to get his life back together.” Waas said.
She said the federal appeal she plans to file will focus on media coverage of the trial and exposure of the unsequestered jury to the Internet. Murray has maintained throughout his appeals that the jury should have been sequestered due to the flood of publicity surrounding the case.
Originally posted at 9:48 am | Thursday, April 24, 2014
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