The judge also barred the defense from introducing evidence that Jackson's dermatologist prescribed demerol for him.

The defense claims [Dr. Arnold] Klein was giving Jackson the painkiller Demerol for long periods and Jackson was withdrawing from it when he died. Jackson died in 2009 of an overdose of the anesthetic propofol complicated by other medications.

Nor would the judge rescind his order allowing the trial to be televised. The defense claims commentators portray Murray as guilty:

[Murray attorney] Chernoff, referring to widespread media coverage of the Casey Anthony trial, called the commentary "a problem."

"Is the problem you're referring to the exercise of the First Amendment?" asked the judge. He added, "I decline, at this point, to amend my ruling. The First Amendment is one of our most cherished principles and the right to comment is part of that."

Trial starts September 8. The jury will not be sequestered.

I think Murray has some good defenses and the manslaughter charge is a stretch. But his attempts to deflect from the singular issue of whether he "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson" by administering a fatal dose of propofol makes it seem like he's trying to put Jackson on trial. The prosecutors argue:

"The current case should focus on the events surrounding the medical care provided to Michael Jackson by Conrad Murray... "The case should not be allowed to deteriorate into an unfair, unwarranted and irrelevant attack on the deceased victim."

Of course it hasn't yet been determined Jackson is a crime victim. I wonder if the defense has filed a motion precluding the prosecution from calling Jackson a victim. Why can't they just refer to him as Mr. Jackson?

The coroner's report, which presumably was relied on in filing the manslaughter charge, concluded Dr. Murray did not meet the standard of care for administering propofol, with respect to recommended equipment for patient monitoring, precision dosing and resuscitation. The autopsy did not reveal a lot of other drugs in his system,and no Demerol.)

Accidents happen. Dr. Murray needs to focus on his own conduct -- not Jackson's past or even chronic drug use. It also seems counter-productive to me. By focusing on other people who knew Jackson used drugs and seemed dependent on them, wouldn't the jury conclude as his live-in doctor, he should have known it as well -- and not administered the propofol in the first place?

Sometimes simpler is better. Why not simply argue Jackson died from a combination of medications, that he wasn't aware Jackson had taken the other medications, and that the state hasn't proved beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the dose of propofol that he administered that killed him? And that his actions in the aftermath of administering the propofol were reasonable?

Update 8/30: I see now that Dr. Murray is planning on a defense that he didn't inject Jackson with propofol at all -- that Jackson injected himself without his knowledge. He argued this in motion to disimiss the civil suit:

[p]apers filed by lawyers for Dr. Murray claim Jackson was taking the drug without the medic's knowledge, and on the day of his death he "clandestinely self-administered or self-ingested such medications" and "is comparatively responsible for his own death."

According to CBS News this morning:

Murray admits giving Jackson the drug, but his defense team plans to argue that Jackson injected himself with the lethal dose.

The testimony at the preliminary hearing established that Murray had purchased 155 vials of the drug in two different doses in the months before Jackson's death. Some vials were found in Jackson's bedroom closet. He apparently told investigators he was trying to wean Jackson off the drug.

I think we need to wait and see exactly what his defense will be. If anyone finds the pre-trial pleadings in the case on line, please let us know where. It's always better to read the actual pleadings than go off news accounts, especially those written by non-lawyers. Federal pleadings are online for a small fee through PACER but most state case documents are not.