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Dr. Conrad Murray Convicted, Jailed Immediately

Why no bail until sentencing for Dr. Conrad Murray, following his conviction today for manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson? He was handcuffed in court and remanded into custody until his sentencing. Los Angeles jail officials say he'll be kept in protective custody, not allowed to mingle with other inmates.

The judge set Nov. 29 for probation/sentencing and told the lawyers to be prepared to address restitution issues. He also referred to California's new sentencing law, the "Realignment Act" which took effect Oct. 1. Under the new law, persons convicted of certain felonies, including involuntary manslaughter cannot be sentenced to the state prison, only county jail. The time spent in county jail is reduced, and in some cases, a sentence can be served on house arrest. While Murray's sentence will be under the new law, his good time credit will be determined under the old law since the crime was committed before October 1. [More...]

Any chance the judge intends to grant Murray probation and remanded him today so he'd get a "taste" -- a bit of jail time?

One sidenote: Looking at the list of felonies that must be punished with a state prison sentence, some are intuitive, like violent crimes, these two are puzzling: Possession or importation of horse meat and Offering horse meat for human consumption. Health and Safety code violations seem otherwise to be punishable only by county jail.

Dr. Murray's lawyers say they will make another request for bond before sentencing.

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  • Display: Sort:
    LAT writer opined perhaps judge (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 07:41:41 PM EST
    ordered immed. no bail custody was to protect Dr. Murray.  Lots of Michael Jackson fans at the court  house.  

    California criminal law and procedure (none / 0) (#1)
    by Peter G on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 07:08:23 PM EST
    are often unique or at least idiosyncratic, as compared with the norm in most U.S. states.  Any California defense lawyers in the TL community who can shed light, from experience, on Jeralyn's questions?

    Maybe because of prior passage of (none / 0) (#4)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 07:47:41 PM EST
    Proposition 6? Prop 6

    Parent
    Tragedy continued (none / 0) (#3)
    by koshembos on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 07:45:28 PM EST
    Michael Jackson may have gotten the same shots before; this time the common wisdom is that he died of it. His genius was packaged with a troubled life. Now we have yet another victim.

    How was Murray a victim? (none / 0) (#5)
    by observed on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 08:46:59 PM EST
    He was an incompetent, dangerous charlatan.
    Whether the verdict was reasonable from a legal standpoint I can't say, but I have no problem with that slimeball being convicted.

    Parent
    Cardiologists/vascular specialization. (none / 0) (#6)
    by oculus on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 10:25:05 PM EST
    Not a board-certified anesthesiologist.  Per biography.com, Jackson pd. him $150,000/month to be his personal physician.

    Parent
    Not certified as a cardiologist at (none / 0) (#7)
    by observed on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 11:25:45 PM EST
    at hospital, IIRC.

    Parent
    no name calling (none / 0) (#8)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 11:59:39 PM EST
    charlaton is uncalled for and violates our comment rules. Please take that kind of personal attack to another site.

    Parent
    Fine. He was dangerously incompetent. (none / 0) (#9)
    by observed on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 12:03:04 AM EST
    Moreover, he presented himself as having expertise on anesthesiology which he did not possess.

    Parent
    The old somebody... (none / 0) (#16)
    by kdog on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 09:08:27 AM EST
    has to pay for a tragedy.

    And ya can't blame Michael...no sir, no ma'am.  Pound of flesh must come from the living.

    Anybody who thinks Murray was acting as a physician is fooling themselves, Michael hired Murray for his prescription pad, not his expertise as a physician.  I mean lets get real.

    Maybe if we didn't use a stupid permission slip system for drugs, doctors could be doctors and dealers could be dealers, but we must all be treated like children.

    Parent

    I wonder if (none / 0) (#10)
    by Makarov on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 12:53:23 AM EST
    the fact Lindsay Lohan just served 4 hours on a 30 day sentence influenced the judge's decision to have him remanded.

    Who knows how the Sheriff of LA County determines who stays in jail and who goes free? Murray could end up doing a few days for a 6 month sentence. Maybe this is the judge's way of making sure he serves some time, if only a couple weeks.

    Horse meat? (none / 0) (#11)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 07:05:32 AM EST
    .

    Horse meat is common fare in other parts of the world.  Its amazing that its a crime in a state that holds itself so cosmopolitan.

    .

    Is it possible (none / 0) (#12)
    by nyjets on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 08:05:42 AM EST
    Is it possible that the law concerning horse meat is one of those laws that while on the books but is no longer enforced. At one time the law made sense about 50 - 100 years ago but now the law is essentially ignored.

    Parent
    Still a fair amount of emotion involved (none / 0) (#13)
    by Rojas on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 08:25:29 AM EST
    There have been efforts to create a Federal law, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, designed to stop the slaughter of American horses for human consumption.[24] On September 8, 2006, the House of Representatives passed a bill which, had it also passed the Senate and been signed by the President, would have made killing or selling American horses for human consumption an illegal practice in the United States.[25]


    Parent
    Dogs and horses are on (none / 0) (#15)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 08:51:36 AM EST
    a psychological level "friends" of Americans and the West.  The utility of horses played a vital role in settling the West.  Dogs and horses helped us herd and protect the predictable domestic protein that sustained us.  When I was a kid on the ranch we only had two horses and they were only used when we were changing pastures or branding but my Uncle could tell you about the times when going to town required a wagon and horses, he could show you where all families camped overnight on the way to town to establish a common "check point".  If someone went missing they either made it to the check point or they didn't and that dictated the search area. Trucks had taken over the horse jobs by the time I was born but the history lives on still. We used dogs everyday though, they would bring the sheep into the corrals at night to protect them from coyotes and chase the cows in for whatever needed done.

    Dogs and horses are consumed for dinner all over the world but it makes me gag to think about eating either one.

    Parent

    Me too (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:15:23 AM EST
    .

    But just because I would not like to chow down on puppy or pony, that's no reason criminalize those with a different culture or taste.  IMO, burning or burying perfectly good meat is a crime against nature in a hungry world.

    .

    Parent

    All food for thought :) (none / 0) (#18)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:36:49 AM EST
    But the thought of this food....bleh

    Parent
    I once ate horse by accident (none / 0) (#20)
    by CST on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:40:36 AM EST
    sometimes when you pick the word on the menu that no one understands you end up with horse.

    It wasn't bad.  Although I did feel kind of creeped out afterwards when we went home and translated.

    Parent

    I have heard that is very good (none / 0) (#21)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:44:32 AM EST
    And dog is supposed to be super yummy (none / 0) (#22)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:45:09 AM EST
    I keep thinking about how PETA would just (none / 0) (#23)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:48:13 AM EST
    lose its mind in Korea.  We lived in what they call the ville for the summer.  Some families had one female dog.  She is not a pet, their home is her home base but she roams the ville especially twice a year, lives on scraps from here and there.  Her job is to get pregnant twice a year.  The family eats her puppies.

    Parent
    agree (none / 0) (#19)
    by CST on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 10:37:14 AM EST
    Well, in cosmpolitan cities of (none / 0) (#24)
    by observed on Wed Nov 09, 2011 at 12:43:02 AM EST
    Central Asia, horse meat is consumed frequently, and with relish. Historically, these people had a diet consisting almost entirely of horse meat, horse milk and wheat.
    Apparently, even today a hungry Kazakh man may consume 3-5 kg of meat in a feast.

    I ate horse already, but I would draw the line at dog---especially since I'm told the it's tough meat.

    Parent

    So are dogs (none / 0) (#14)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 08, 2011 at 08:40:04 AM EST