Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray files petition to get medical license back after release from jail
Murray, who had a clinic in Houston before his 2011 conviction, is set to walk out of a Los Angeles jail on Monday.
BY NANCY DILLON / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013, 6:06 PM
Conrad Murray sits in a courtroom during his involuntary manslaughter trial on October 21, 2011.
He still has one more weekend to go behind bars, but Michael Jackson’s one-time personal doctor is stepping up the battle to get his medical licenses back stat.
Dr. Conrad Murray filed a civil petition in Travis County, Texas, Friday morning asking a civil court judge to stop the state medical board’s revocation of his medical license pending his criminal appeal in California.
Murray, who's set to walk out of a Los Angeles jail on Monday, had a clinic serving low-income patients in Houston before his 2011 conviction for causing the King of Pop’s fatal overdose.
Texas was the first state to revoke Murray’s medical license in August and cited his felony conviction as the cause.
Murray’s Texas lawyer Charles Peckham said he tried to fight the decision internally – arguing that California convictions aren’t final until all appeals are over – but the board denied his motion for a rehearing on Tuesday.
A Los Angeles jury found Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter for providing propofol to Michael Jackson.
He's now asking a state court judge for a temporary restraining order to halt the decision. He claims it could cause "irreparable harm” to Murray, especially if the Medical Board of California uses it as a precedent to revoke Murray’s license in the Golden State.
“There is a clear potential for a domino effect,” Peckham told the Daily News Friday.
He said Murray already has agreed to the indefinite suspension of his licenses and has no plans to treat patients pending his criminal appeal – so the early revocation was unnecessary.
But he was clear Murray wants his white coat back as soon as possible.
“Dr. Murray has an unquenchable desire to help people, and no matter where it is, he will return to his given profession of healing,” Peckham said.
“The truth is that a man like Dr. Murray who’s dedicated his life to helping people will find a place to do it,” he said. “If it’s in Texas or the U.S. or we don’t know where, you can be sure he will find a place to help people.”
California’s Medial Board has filed its own petition to revoke Murray’s license, but it's essentially on hold during the criminal appeal, which could take years, Peckham said.
RELATED: MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOC WANTS MEDICAL LICENSE BACK
“He’s going to keep fighting in every way possible,” Murray’s Los Angeles-based criminal lawyer Valerie Wass previously told The News.
“If he doesn’t receive favorable results in the Court of Appeal, he plans to go to the California Supreme Court and federal court if need be,” she said.
Wass said Dr. Murray “has never wavered” in his position that he’s not responsible for Jackson’s death as he prepared for his “This Is It” comeback concert series.
Michael Jackson pictured rehearsing for his planned shows in London at the Staples Center in June 2009.
GETTY IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
Michael Jackson pictured rehearsing for his planned shows in London at the Staples Center in June 2009.
A Los Angeles jury found Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter for providing the surgery-strength anesthetic propofol to Jackson as an off-label sleep aid.
California’s Medical Board called Murray’s actions “grossly negligent” in a June 2012 filing to revoke his license.
“(Dr. Murray) administered a lethal combination and amount of drugs to patient M.J. He failed to continuously monitor the patient’s vital signs, appropriately maintain his airway or ensure the presence of live saving equipment at the bedside,” Linda Whitney, Executive Director of Medical Board of California, wrote.
Wass said Murray acknowledged giving Jackson propofol multiple times in June 2009 but didn’t administer the final, fatal dose.
“He’s always maintained Jackson was not on a drip, and that Jackson self-injected the lethal dose of propofol,” Wass said last week.
“When he gets out, he’s going to continue to fight and tell his story,” she said, adding that Murray will first go into seclusion with his actress girlfriend and their 4-year-old son to re-acclimate to life as a “free man.”
Katherine Jackson’s lawyer Brian Panish said Friday that Michael’s heartbroken mom feels Murray should continue to pay for her son’s death after his Monday release.
“There’s no question that Dr. Murray is the one who killed Michael, and we hope he’ll never practice medicine again so he can’t harm anyone else in the future,” Panish told The News.
