Jackson's doctor pleads not guilty

Los Angeles (AP):

Michael Jackson's doctor pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the pop superstar's death as the case moved rapidly towards trial.

"Your Honour, I am an innocent man," Dr Conrad Murray told Superior Court judge Michael Pastor. "I definitely plead not guilty."

Murray spoke in a soft voice and his lawyers announced they would be ready to go to trial within the 60-day statutory time limit, which would make for an unusually speedy trial. Deputy District Attorney David Walgren said the prosecution would be ready to go as well.

The judge scheduled the trial to begin March 28 and set a pretrial hearing for February 7. Murray's lawyer said earlier he would not seek a plea bargain, and they had no qualms about going to trial in spite of strong prosecution evidence at a preliminary hearing aiming to prove the doctor's gross negligence killed Jackson.

"We're going to go to trial," defence attorney J. Michael Flanagan said in an interview. "I think our case is really solid. We were very pleased with the way the evidence went at the preliminary hearing ... . This should result in an acquittal."

"If I were advising him, I would be talking to the district attorney to see what they would be willing to accept," said criminal defence attorney Steve Cron. An offer of probation with community service and temporary suspension of Murray's medical licence would be worth considering if it were proposed, he said.