Jackson doc's defense challenges key expert

>> bill, thanks.

>>> after four weeks of testimony, the prosecution is wrapping up its case in the man slaughter trial of dr. can rad murray . an expert is going to be back on the stand monday. kristin dahlgren has the story.

>> reporter: the prosecution made its final push with propofol expert dr. steven shaffer blaming conrad murray for michael jackson 's death.

>> in my view, michael jackson died while the infusion was running.

>> shaffer estimated mu murray gaip gave jackson 40 times more propofol than he admitted to police.

>> on friday, the defense tried to discredit the doctor.

>> you understand that everything you said in the past two days was your opinion. you do understand that, right?

>> much of what i have testified is basically standards of the practice of medicine.

>> his testimony capped the prosecution case that experts say has been laid out well. from the bodyguard who testified murray tried to hide drugs before calling 911 --

>> he reached over and grabbed a hand full of vials. then he reached over to me and said, here, put these in a bag.

>> to paramedics who said murray never told them jackson was given propofol. the jury heard from jackson himself sounding incoherent in a recording made by dr. can rad murray . but with the defense set to start, the case is far from over.

>> while it may seem that the defense has a tough road ahead of them, all they have to do is kick up sand and hopefully something sticks with some juror that creates reasonable doubt.

>> and their tactic may now be to put michael jackson on trial.

>> in court, the defense is et is to prove jackson self-administered drugs in a desperate bid for sleep. they'll call dr. paul white , the self-proclaimed father of propoe foll follow. michael jackson is set to take center stage as they try to convince the jury it was the king of pop and not his doctor to blame.

>>> joining us this morning, beth carace is a correspondent for true tv's "in session." good morning to you.

>> good morning.

>> let's talk about this dr. shaffer who said in probably the strongest testimony yesterday that dr. murray created 17 instances of poor egregious care. is that the crux of the case?

>> it really is. the one thing is setting up that infusi infusion, the i.v. drip that kept running even after michael jackson died. so, really, if you had to pick a couple of things, it would be giving propofol outside a hospital setting and then leaving his side. for two to 45 minutes is unclear how long he was left his side and things went wrong during that time and the drip kept going even after michael jackson died and that's why he had such a high level in his body. so while he committed 17 errors, some of them aggreegregious, some un unethical, those two that i've highlighted are the critical ones.

>> how many doors are open for the defense to make its case?

>> the defense is arguing that there wasn't that infusion, that drip. they're saying, no, he gave him a small injection of propoe follow. and whatever it was in there that killed michael jackson , michael jackson is responsible for himself. he had to have taken pills, injection of profo poe follow or something like that. the defense , they know is coming, but the defense has to explain the level of propofol and how he could have given it to himself.

>> so the defense is going to bring dr. paul white , the father of propofol. is the junl jury going to be left to try to decide which anesthesiologist to believe?

>> yes, that's part of it. well, that's a large part of it. it comes down to the science here of what actually did cause the death. but the state says, even if you believe the defense that michael jackson is responsible, dr. murray left his side. you do not leave the side of a patient. so even if michael jackson ingested, dr. murray is still at fault.

>> member of the family have been coming to the trial each day as the prosecution comes to a close. what has their mood been like?

>> well, the courtroom is always pretty full. a time of michael jackson families are always there. randy jackson has been there every day. sisters, we think more family members will be returning. there were several of them during the beginning of the trial since things will be wrapping up in the next few weeks. but, you know, it's a somber courtroom. but there have been some sparring matches between these two experts. the defense expert has been making faces. the judge has admonished him because he does not like what dr. shaffer is saying. he's going to be testifying this week. the judge has already set a hearing for after the trial to decide whether to hold that expert in contempt because of his conduct.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44988293/ns/today-entertainment/

beef wellington ronnie brown man up man up wayne newton naomi wolf josh hamilton