Anesthesiologist Paul White's testimony for the defense continues - Day 21 -
The defense anesthesiology expert in retirement, Dr. Paul White, was under cross-examination from the prosecution Monday and will return to finish his testimony Tuesday.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney David Walgren got Dr. Paul White to acknowledge that Murray deviated from the standards of care in his use of the surgical anesthetic propofol in Michael Jackson's bedroom to help him sleep.
Those deviations, including not having proper safety precautions and failing to quickly call 911 for help when Jackson stopped breathing, are so "egregious and extreme" that they make Murray criminally responsible, the prosecution contends.
Dr. White characterized Murray's deviations as "perhaps between minor and serious, but it's not extreme."
"Have you ever administered propofol in a bedroom?" Walgren asked.
"No, I have not," White answered.
"Before this case, have you ever seen someone administer propofol in a bedroom?" Walgren pressed.
"No, I have not," White replied.
Prosecutor Walgren also was successful in getting White to agree that he would not have done what Murray did -- take the job of sedating Jackson nearly every night at home with propofol.
"No amount of money" could get him to take the job, White said. "Absolutely not," he testified. "That would be a job I would never consider accepting."
White told prosecutors he's never heard of anyone administering Propofol at a home setting.
White said it's "desirable" to keep medical records but did not think Murray's failure to keep records was an "extreme" deviation from the standard of care.
White told Walgren he's been paid $11,000 for his testimony so far. He said his usual fee is $3,500 a day.
White said he had no problem leaving a patient's bedside 15-30 minutes after giving them a small dose of Propofol.
White agreed he would not leave the room if he were treating a patient who had indicated he liked to inject himself with Propofol.
White said he would have called 911 sooner but, according to him, it would have made any difference in this case.
Paramedics testified that Michael Jackson could be saved if 911 had been called sooner.
During a particularly contentious moment, Walgren asked White whether Murray had an obligation to report all the drugs he administered to Michael Jackson. White said sometimes, in cases of emergency, details are "overlooked." Walgren then asked whether Propofol was an overlooked "detail?" White answered, "Obviously it was overlooked"... Walgren snapped back saying there was another option... that Murray lied. White acknowledged that yes, it was a possibility.
White testified he now rejects his initial theory that Michael Jackson may have swallowed Propofol on June 25, 2009.
White said he wrote that opinion in a preliminary report which he wrote in 2 days. Walgren asked him to find the word "preliminary" in the report. White was unable to find it.
Walgren asked White whether he had come up with any theories that did not place the blame squarely on Michael Jackson. White said he did not.
White acknowledged he would have never agreed to administer Propofol as a sleeping aid, saying, "no amount of money" could persuade him to do it.
Judge Pastor had to interrupt White's testimony after White referenced a conversations he had with Murray. White said he was told Jackson had his own stash of Propofol. Pastor warned White not to try to bring up "excluded information," saying "It's deliberate and I don't like it."
White said he believes Murray drew up a syringe of 50 mg of Propofol and after giving Michael Jackson 25 mg, he left the room. Michael Jackson then self administered the remaining 25 mg that were left in the syringe.
He said Jackson likely administered the final dose in the 40 minutes Murray was on the phone.
“It was some time during that 40-minute period where I believe Mr. Jackson had the opportunity and likely self-administrated the final fatal dose of propofol,” he said.
Walgren noted that Jackson was attached to an IV stand and a urinary catheter and suggested it was more plausible for Murray to have injected the propofol and then lied about the amount he gave.
“It’s possible if he wanted to potentially harm Michael Jackson,” White replied.
“If Michael Jackson did it, was he doing it to harm himself?” Walgren asked.
“I don’t think he realized the potential danger,” White said.
Walgren pointed out that even if Murray had initially forgotten, he had an ambulance ride to the hospital to "ponder" what was happening. At the hospital, however, Murray did not tell emergency room doctors that Jackson had been given propofol.
Walgren said that while it is a possibility that Murray "over-looked" the fact, he asked White if it could also be a possiblity that he lied.
"It's an option, yes," White conceded.
The judge said Monday he was considering finding a key defense witness in contempt of court and fining him $1,000 for violating an order.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said the witness, an anesthesiologist who is the main medical expert for Murray’s defense, violated a court order by mentioning in his testimony conversations he had with Murray.
Pastor had earlier warned Dr. Paul White to keep from mentioning the “two extensive conversations” he said he had with Murray, information the judge had previously ruled was inadmissible evidence in the case.
Minutes after the judge’s admonishment, White again brought up the conversation before jurors, the judge said.
“That is a direct violation of my order and quite frankly constitutes direct contempt,” Pastor said.
In his testimony earlier Monday, White hinted at information from those conversations -- that Michael Jackson had his “own supply” of propofol, that Murray left a half-filled syringe at Jackson’s bedside -– to a prosecutor’s repeated objections.
Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren protested to the judge outside the jury’s presence that White was intentionally dropping mentions of information from his conversations with Murray.
Defense attorney Michael Flanagan said White could not be expected to specifically recall what information he got from Murray’s police interview and what information he got from his meetings with Murray.
Pastor said he didn’t buy that explanation.
“Nice try,” Pastor said. "This is so obvious .... He’s trying at every juncture to add in other material. It’s deliberate, I don’t like it, it’s not going to happen again.”
Pastor said when White once again referred to the conversation despite his admonishment, it was a direct violation of his order.
The contempt of court charge is the second for White, who was also chided by the judge earlier this month for making comments about a prosecution witness reported on a website.
Pastor said he would hold a hearing on both contempt charges Nov. 16.
Closing arguments could come Friday or next Monday, depending on how much time prosecutors take for their rebuttal case and how much time lawyers are given to prepare.
MJFS - cnn- tmz - latimes - abc