Prosecutors asked for another delay for the start of Murray's trial
Prosecutors want another delay in the start of the involuntary manslaughter trial of Conrad Murray, but the judge will wait until next month to decide the request, CNN reported.
"I'm not surprised by all of this," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said during a hearing Friday.
The trial has already been delayed twice since Murray invoked his right to a speedy trial after his arraignment in January.
"When I got myself involved in it, I said 'It ain't gonna happen,' " Pastor said, referring to the original starting date of late March. The case has been "creepy crawly," he said.
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren said Friday morning that the prosecution needed another three weeks to prepare because of "scheduling issues." Defense lawyers did not object to moving jury selection to the end of September.
Pastor, who said he "rearranged all sort of cases, including capital cases" to start the trial in September, said he would wait until a July 12 hearing to decide.
Also on Friday, the judge approved a plan to allow defense lawyers and prosecutors to view dozens of hours of raw video shot of Michael Jackson's last rehearsals.
Pastor hasn't ruled on what clips, if any, defense lawyers might be able to show at the trial. He has previously limited the prosecution to use the raw footage shot on June 23 and 24.
Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter for having administered Propofol, a powerful anesthetic used to sedate people during surgery, to treat insomnia, without the medical conditions required, like an equipment to monitor breathing and without the help of an anesthesiologist, who was required too.
Jury selection was under way in May when the defense requested a delay so its expert witnesses could have more time to prepare for new experts hired by the prosecution. Pastor then dismissed hundreds of prospective jurors and rescheduled the trial to start on September 20 with the jury selection to start on September 8.
MJFS