Will Michael Jackson's doctor be charged?

They have to find him first..

I'm thinking yes: http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_12698557

I say no, it will take more than 2 months to get the mess straightened out.

CNN reports the doctor went to Texas and is "lawyered up". The law firm will be speaking this afternoon.. Oh joy- can't wait to hear the scripted, fool-proof explaination and rationale for what occured!

Does this question only apply to one doctor (Dr. Conrad Murray) or would this settle as YES if another doctor was brought up on charges for contributing to Michael Jackson's death?

@lola - Only Murray. Its in the settlement details. I think it would be well worth writing another question that's more general... "Will *anyone* be charged in relation to Michael's death"

I agree w/ Jenni, it would be a great question and would run for a while.

Ok. I wrote one up, and gave this until the end of September. How's that?

I see loala wrote one up, too, and i like her question better.

They were both good, but I agree the more inclusive one allows room for more people involved. Thanks both for the great market!

Which doctor?

LAPD now treating Jackson's death as a homicide: http://www.tmz.com/2009/07/15/michael-jackson-homicide-death-dr-conrad-murray-lapd-propofol/

Ohh! Law and drug enforcers are at that doc's office right now, acc. to CNN.

BTW, interesting factoid from CNN- that doc was paid 150 thousand a month (=almost 2 mill a year!) by Michael to "keep him well".. I find excesses as these amazing ... and very sad.

Police look for evidence of manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death
July 22, 2009 | Los Angeles Times

A search warrant executed today at the Houston offices of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal doctor, indicates that authorities are investigating "the offense of manslaughter" in relation to the pop star's death, Murray's attorney said. The statement by attorney Edward Chernoff is the strongest indication yet that investigators are considering serious criminal charges against anyone connected with Jackson's sudden death June 25.

“We can confirm that a search warrant was executed today on Dr. Murray’s offices in Houston Texas," Chernoff said in a statement. "We reviewed the warrant and remained on the premises while the search was being executed. The search was conducted by members of the DEA, two Robbery-Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department and Houston Police officers. The search warrant authorized law enforcement to search for and seize items, including documents, they believed constituted evidence of the offense of manslaughter. Law enforcement concluded their search around 12:30 p.m., and left with a forensic image of a business computer hard drive and 21 documents. None of the documents taken had previously been requested by law enforcement or the L.A. Coroner’s office."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/police-look-for-evidence-of-manslaughter-in-michael-jackson-death-attorney-says.html

Jenni, will the settlement date on this change if nothing definitive occurs by 9/1? I've never figured out when settlement dates can change and when they are set in stone unless one option is "no news by settlement date"?

what happen to paddy112?

@donnamil - This one is tied to a settlement date of 9/1. If we ever specifically say "Settlement date" then that is fixed in stone. Suspend dates can possibly be me moved depending on the context of the question, but this one is not going anywhere.

@dieseldog - He was cheating.

This question is going to be a photo finish to see if official charges occur by the settlement date or not (maybe even not at all). But that is part of the fun of Hubdub- calling things as you see them, then seeing if it all unfolds as you predicted.

BREAKING NEWS RIGHT NOW ON FOX NEWS 4:38 pm 7/23/09 PST.

Personal doctor is target of manslaughter probe.

Thanks Jenni. I now know how to watch for the difference. All I know is, I'm going to lose some nice profits on the "cause of MJ death" question because they surely have the toxicology results back, we all know it was drug related, we know they're chasing MD's, but it doesn't look like they're going to release the info by Aug. 1. Anyone have some cheese to go with my whine LOL?

nah donnamil i think you have a valid argument.

i lost money there too. i think the settlement date was a bit too quick

CNN BREAKING NEWS (07/27) "Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, administered a powerful drug that authorities believe killed the singer, a source close to the Jackson family and with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CNN on Monday." (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/27/michael.jackson/index.html)

DEA Searches Las Vegas Home of Jackson's Doctor
Associated Press | July 28, 2009, 11:33AM

LAS VEGAS — Federal authorities are searching the Las Vegas home of Michael Jackson's personal doctor. Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration were at Dr. Conrad Murray's home Tuesday as part of a manslaughter investigation into the singer's death.

Murray was Michael Jackson's personal physician and was with Jackson when he died. Murray, who is based in Las Vegas and is licensed in California, Nevada and Texas, had his Houston office and a storage unit searched last week by DEA agents. Court records show the agents were seeking evidence of whether the doctor committed manslaughter.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6550793.html

Charges are expected...but will they come in time for this market?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535682,00.html

I wish questions like these--ones that rely on sometimes lengthy processes to happen--would have more inclusive settlement dates. I realize there's fun in betting whether such-and-such a thing will happen before such-and-such a date, but that's almost a different question: "Will prosecutors be able to gather enough evidence by August 20th to charge Michael Jackson's doctor with a crime?" IOW, the question as phrased now is purportedly about the doctor--did he do anything criminal?--but the possibly too-early settlement date makes it instead about the police will they be able gather and present enough evidence to charge the doctor with a crime?

Know what I mean? ;-)

Well voiced! You nailed the concern. And I have to remind myself that real time is a lot different from tv show results- CSI and Brass would never take this long to catch the bad guy with good evidence! teeheeteehee

@sqlman - I completely agree. I wish the question creator had thought that through a little better.. oh wait. Actually, when I wrote it I figured I had included ample time for the investigative process. 6 weeks for the toxicology and another 6 weeks for the investigation. Next time I'll be sure to do 12 weeks for both! Just a warning though, notice that settlement date is *not* suspend date here. Suspend is Aug 20 but settlement is Sep 1.

Sorry about that, jenni; I promise I wasn't picking on you. ;-) I was thinking more about the market from several months back asking about the polo horses poisoned in Florida; that market nearly suspended and closed too quickly for authorities to assign blame. Like I said, I know it's fun to bet on short-duration markets--and that's often a great way to reap handsome profits very quickly. And I know this stuff has been long talked about here, and there is no consensus: there are good arguments on both sides.

Dr. Conrad Murray put himself on video, thanking people for their support.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNJ3BhV8O98

Michael Jackson's Doctor to Be Charged With Manslaughter

Michael Jackson’s personal physician will be charged with manslaughter within the next two weeks according to a law enforcement source. The source initially said Dr. Conrad Murray could be arrested as soon as next Wednesday — but investigators have decided to execute one more search warrant, likely at a Los Angeles pharmacy, next week in an attempt to gather more evidence against him. The arrest is now expected the following week.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540540,00.html

08/28: "The Los Angeles County coroner's office ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide when it released its official autopsy report on Friday. A designation of homicide means that Jackson died at the hands of another, but does not necessarily mean a crime was committed."

Huh?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32598793/ns/entertainment-music/

they are releasing one report but not the other...strange, but it is Los Angeles

It looks pretty positive now eh?

Just to be clear, if Dr Conran is not charged by 1st Sep 2009, then 'NO' would be the outcome. But if he is charged on, say Sep 7th 2009 then the outcome for this question is still 'NO' as he wasn't charged by Sep 1st ?

Yep. Its all about the September 1st deadline. Doesn't matter what happens after that.

Thanks Jennie

So...I'ts the 1st. I don't see anything about Dr. Conrad Murray offically being arrested. I guess the No's have it.

So is someone going to post a new question that asks whether Dr. Murray will be charged, rather than--as happened here--asking about how soon it will take the L.A. County D.A. to put some charges together? ;-)