Today we entered day 19 of the People vs. Conrad Murray trial. There are reportedly only two defence witnesses left to take to the stand.
Dr Robert Waldman
The first testimony of the day came from Dr Robert Waldman, an addiction specialist. One of the defence’s main arguments is that Michael Jackson was addicted to Demerol that had been administered by dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein.
Waldman stated that in the months leading up to Jackson’s death he had been regularly visiting Dr Arnold Klein for Botox and Restylane treatments. During these relatively painless treatments Jackson was receiving “unusually large” quantities of Demerol. It was revealed from Dr Klein’s medical records that in March 2009 Jackson was receiving 200mg of Demerol. By May 2009 it had increased to 300mg. The reports showed that in one sitting Michael received 375 mg; a typical dose would be 50 mg.
Waldman told the court that the amounts of Demerol that Dr Klein was administering to Jackson would have left him “sleepy, lethargic, possibly difficult to arouse, possibly unresponsive.”
A symptom of withdrawing from Demerol is insomnia. The defence believe that it was the withdrawing from this drug that caused Jackson to not be able to sleep and eventually lead to him administering Propofol to himself.
Dr Waldman stated he believes that Jackson had become dependent on the drug. Waldman told the court “I believe there’s evidence he was dependent on Demerol.” When asked if he believed Jackson was addicted Dr Waldman replied “possibly.” The difference between a dependency and an addiction is that a dependency is a physical need for a drug. An addiction is more serious as it involves destructive behaviours and continuing use of a substance despite bad consequences.
Waldman told the court that had had no expertise in dermatology, but had consulted doctors in the field.
Cross-examination
On cross-examination prosecution lawyer David Walgren implied that Dr Waldman’s conclusions were irrelevant and that the defence were seeking to confuse the jury by passing the blame on to someone else. Walgren asked “you understand there is no Demerol in the toxicology findings?” Waldman stated this was correct.
Walgren also questioned Waldman about how he concluded that Jackson was dependent and possibly addicted to Demerol. Waldman stated that he had not just looked at Dr Klein’s medical records, he had also formed his opinion based on “what’s known about his [Michael Jackson’s] public behavior.” Walgren then asked “would you diagnose Michael Jackson as addicted to Demerol based strictly on the documents in my hand?” Waldman stated “probably not.”
Waldman also acknowledged that he was not officially certified as an addiction specialist.
Dr Paul White
The second testimony of the day, and the final defence witness, Dr Paul White, a Propofol expert, then took to the stand.
Dr White tried to dismiss the prosecutions claims that Murray was reckless by combining a number of sedatives when treating Michael Jackson. White stated "in anaesthesiology, it's what we do every day… We're polypharmacists. We combine drugs to achieve better effect, with less medication."
Dr White also told the court that it would be unusual for Jackson to have been able to have died from the dose that Murray gave him. Murray told the police that he had administered 25 mg of Propofol to Jackson. White stated that this was a relatively small dose.
The court was then adjourned for the day.
Summery
It is certain that Dr White’s testimony is going to shake the case up. It will be interesting to hear if the prosecution pick up on the point that Dr White thinks the dose Dr Murray stated he administered, 25 mg, was too small to kill him. The toxicology reports prove that Murray had lied to the police as far higher doses of Propofol were found in Jackson’s body. If White is basing his testimony on what Murray told police it seems his testimony will be filled with inaccuracies. It will be interesting to see what Dr White believes the toxicology report findings prove.
I thought it was highly surprising that Dr Waldman was not actually an addiction specialist. I also thought that it was not right that his decision was informed by here say about Jackson’s public persona. In a court only fact really matters and opinions that are not supported by evidence or fact are completely irrelevant and invalid.
It seems the witnesses that the defence have called so far have either been irrelevant to the case, such as the former patients, or under qualified to be experts on their subjects such as Dr Waldman and Michael Henson from Pacific Toxicology. The only witness that seems to have any relevance is Dr White, whose testimony is not only key to the defence’s argument but also to the case.
It does seem unfortunate that the ultimate decider of how the case goes is in the testimonies of the two key witnesses, the Propofol experts Dr Shafer and Dr White, who are holding their own battle as they were former colleagues and are now rivals.
In a court of law I always feel that witnesses should be as balanced and unbiased as they can, particularly expert witnesses. It seems very few of the witnesses in this trial have been. Combined this with an incompetent defence team I do not feel this is a fair trial, either to Dr Murray or to Michael Jackson.
The trial continues tomorrow with the most important, and final testimony, from Dr White.
Sophie Dewing
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