Flanagan is no stranger to legal proceedings involving the medical field; in 2004 Flanagan presented and won an acquittal for an L.A. nurse charged with involuntary manslaughter involving the anesthetic Propofol - the same drug that is blamed for the June 25th, 2009 death of Michael Jackson. In that case, two nurses were charged after a cancer patient died after the anesthetic was administrated without proper authorization of an anesthesiologist. Flanagan's client was acquitted and the other nurse charged in the case pleaded ''no contest to a lesser charge.'' Flanagan also represented pop star Britney Spears in an incident involving a hit and run case.
According to police affidavits, Murray admitted that he gave Jackson the drug Propofol to help Jackson sleep. Jackson suffered from insomnia and Propofol, a powerful anesthetic, is used to render patients unconscious during surgical procedures. Jackson's death was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office due to ''acute Propofol intoxication and the use of sedative''.
Murray became a ''target'' in the manslaughter investigation approximately 1 month into the investigation, but to date, no charges have been officially filed against him.
According to Sandi Gibbons, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, ''prosecutors continue to assist Los Angeles Police Department investigators, but that no decision had been made about whether to charge Murray.''
Murray's attorney Flanagan believes that the delay in pressing charges proves the difficulty of the case and added that ''the only thing they could charge him with'' is involuntary manslaughter.
According to Flanagan, ''it's because it's not a slam-dunk case. There's a lot of evidence to go over.''
