LOS ANGELES – A doctor charged in Michael Jackson’s death will keep his California medical license after a judge ruled Monday he didn’t have the authority to revoke it.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor declined a request by California authorities to suspend the ability of Dr. Conrad Murray to practice medicine in the state.
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Pastor said there were no circumstances that warranted revisiting the conditions of Murray’s bail.
California authorities have sought the suspension since Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February.
Murray is accused of giving the pop star a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol last June. He has pleaded not guilty.
Pastor said he may revisit the issue of Murray’s medical license, but only if there was new information or possibly after a preliminary hearing. Several members of Jackson’s family, including his father, Joe, mother, Katherine, sister LaToya and brother Jermaine, attended the hearing.
Last month, the cardiologist made news when he stabilized a woman who fell unconscious and had a weak pulse on a flight from Houston.
No reality TV deal for teen sailor, mother maintains
LOS ANGELES — The family of a 16-year-old California girl rescued from the Indian Ocean as she tried to sail solo around the world has no plans to cash in on their child’s adventure with a reality TV show, documentary or any other deal, Abby Sunderland’s mother said Monday.
Marianne Sunderland also said reports the family signed a deal for a reality show while her daughter was at sea were untrue. “There is no reality TV show, there’s no documentary that’s going to be made, there’s no book deal,” Sunderland said.
The New York Post reported Monday that Abby Sunderland’s father, Laurence, said he signed a contract for a reality show weeks after his daughter set sail from Southern California last January.
Marianne Sunderland said that report and others were based on misunderstandings.
Before Abby set sail, she said, the family was approached by Magnetic Entertainment, which expressed interest in developing a reality show.
At the time, the Sunderlands’ son Zac had just become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, a record that has since been broken.
Magnetic Entertainment never found a buyer, she said, and the family eventually reacquired the rights to its story. She said family members have no interest in trying to shop them again.
The company still lists plans for a reality show on its website, but the state Franchise Tax Board said Monday that Magnetic’s business license was suspended for failure to pay back taxes. Company officials didn’t reply to calls or e-mails.
Case dismissed against man accused of threatening singer
ATLANTA — Charges have been dropped just before the trial of a Georgia man accused of threatening Elton John on the Internet and outside the singer’s Atlanta condominium.
The case was dismissed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams before a trial was due to start Monday.
Neal Horsley, 65, was apparently angered when John told an interviewer that he believed Jesus was gay. The judge argued that Horsley’s actions didn’t warrant criminal charges.
Horsley had been charged with making terroristic threats, criminal defamation and using the Internet to disseminate threats.
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