Authorities Face Difficult Challenges

The high - profile nature surrounding the investigation into the death of Michael Jackson makes authorities jobs more difficult. And, in the end, more is going to equal less for them.

If the autopsy report reveals medications besides propofol, as has been widely speculated, prosecuters will have a more difficult time building the case for manslaughter against Conrad Murray. In short, the more medications, the potentially less criminal responsibility for Murray.

"You have to show that the doctor knew about all of these other doctors prescribing these other drugs," says one Los Angeles deputy district attorney who prosecutes doctors. "It's a classic problem."

Briefly, Murray admitted to police that he administered propofol hours prior to Michael's death. He has not been charged with any crime and his attorney maintains his innocence. However, search warrants served on Murray indicate that he is the target in a manslaughter investigation. The LA District Attorney's spokesperson say they are not yet involved in the case and have no comment.

Anesthesiologists say that it's extremely negligent and unusual for a doctor to administer propofol in a home, especially without proper monitoring devices. However, legal experts say that, alone, may not be enough to prosecute Murray for anything more than an adminstrative-code infraction if it can not be proven that it was propofol alone that proved lethal.

The LA Times and a few other media outlets reported that Michael's toxicology report revealed other medications, such as the anti-depressant Xanan, as well the propofol. Legal experts say that this explains why it has taken so long to develop the case and no charges have yet been filed.

Loyola Law School professor Stan Goldman agrees that it would be difficult to prosecute Murray alone and that police "don't want the doctors who prescribed the other things running for cover."

However, prosecutors have little choice. If they learn that Murray and at least one other doctor conspired to prescribe drugs using false names, they can charge doctors in a way similar to the two in the Anna Nicole Smith case who, after a two - year investigation, were charged with multiple felony counts of conspiring to prescribe dangerous narcotics using fraudulent means.

Goldman suggests that "may turn out to be an easier charge to prove under some circumstances than manslaughter," depending on what the investigations reveal.

The investigators could also request that federal prosecutors to indict Murray, and possibly other doctors, for improperly transporting drugs across state lines, according to LA attorney Robert H. McNeil Jr, who has defended doctors in criminal cases. The search of the Vegas pharmacy where Murray apparently obtained propofol had authorities looking for FedEx records proving "the purchase, transfer, receiving, ordering, delivery and storage of propofol to Dr. Conrad Murray."

McNeil adds that, if Murray is charged with manslaughter, the prosecution "will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (Murray) knew everything about what drugs Jackson was taking and his whole medical history....This will be a battle of medical experts and the most difficult thing to prosecute."

Robin Sax, former LA prosecutor, says that she is not concerned by the amount of time that has passed without charges being filed, nor by the pervasive reports that Michael passed away after ingesting several different medications.

"There's an eight-year statute of limitations. The one thing L.A. wants to do is to let the media die down on it," Sax told PEOPLE. "They also might want to package things so they can get doctors to roll on other doctors. This is not an exorbitant amount of time by any stretch of the imagination."

Ms. Sax added that just because the toxicology results may make it more difficult to prove manslaughter against Murray doesn't mean that her former colleagues won't tray and won't win..

"We'd file cases that are hard all the time," Ms. Sax says. "The difference is this is hard in front of the media and in front of the public, so they are taking extra precautions."

Source: MJFC / people.com