Conrad Murray Hires Death Drug Lawyer in Michael Jackson Case
Feb. 5, 2010— -- Los Angeles prosecutors won't make a special exception for Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician accused of administering a lethal cocktail of painkillers and anesthetics to Michael Jackson, and want to charge the physician and hold him overnight just like any other accused perp, sources told ABC News.
Sources said the district attorney will file involuntary manslaughter charges against Murray on Monday.
Murray either can surrender unconditionally or he'll be arrested wherever the LAPD finds him. He'll then be sent to jail while he awaits bond and arraignment -- which may take a day -- and then he'll be released, assuming he makes bail.
"We both share the goal of the efficient administration of this process," Murray's defense attorney Edward Chernoff said in a statement Thursday. "An arrest of Dr. Murray would be a waste of money, time and resources. We've always made it clear: You tell us where; we'll be there. I'm sure something can be arranged."
Though it remains to be seen just when Murray will be charged, recent moves by the doctor and his legal team suggest they are preparing for a battle.
Murray arrived in Los Angeles last week to "be available for law enforcement," according to a spokeswoman for Chernoff.
Earlier this month, Murray hired J. Michael Flanagan, an L.A.-based defense attorney, who is reportedly the only attorney in California to have ever won an involuntary manslaughter case involving propofol, the same powerful anesthetic that police say contributed to Jackson's death.
In 2004, Flanagan successfully defended a nurse, Amy Brunner, accused and ultimately acquitted of involuntary manslaughter.
Brunner was accused of leaving a syringe full of propofol out for another nurse to administer to an 80-year-old cancer patient who died within minutes of receiving the shot.
"I'm probably the only attorney in town that has successfully tried a propofol case involving death," Flanagan told TMZ earlier this month.
