With the Michael Jackson homicide investigation complete and Dr. Conrad Murray almost certain to face charges as a result, he’s lawyering up in a major way.
Murray has been the focal point of police inquiries since day one. Now that he’s looking at criminal charges, he’s enlisted J. Michael Flanagan. For a big reason.
Flanagan says he is the best – or even the only – attorney to try a case involving Propofol and death. That’s the anesthesia police believe killed Michael Jackson.
In 2004, Flanagan defended a nurse charged with involuntary manslaughter for wrongly administering Propofol to a patient who later died. She was acquitted.
Of the case against Dr. Conrad Murray, Flanagan says he is “unaware of facts that would give rise to an involuntary manslaughter charge.” But it could happen.
The attorney also says Murray won’t even discuss plea bargaining, because the L.A. County D.A.’s office won’t share any information about the case … yet.
Murray has not been charged with anything as of now. However, there remains a strong likelihood of a manslaughter charge (not murder) in the coming weeks.
Flanagan says Murray broke no laws and it will be “very difficult” for the D.A. to base a case on gross negligence, a requirement for involuntary manslaughter.
As Flanagan puts it, even if there’s proof of “an error in judgment,” it’s a giant leap for a jury to conclude that lapse of judgment constitutes manslaughter.
Conversely, the LAPD has experts who have gone on record saying Dr. Murray’s conduct did constitute gross negligence supporting manslaughter charges.
FUN FACT: Flanagan successfully repped Britney Spears in the 2007 case in which she and her mom ran over that poor celebrity news photographer’s foot!