Surgeon pleads not guilty in transplant case

[Guest guest]

From the Los Angeles Times

Surgeon pleads not guilty in transplant case

Doctor is accused of hastening the death of a potential organ donor.

The judge rejects the prosecution's bid for a gag order.

By Ornstein and Weber

Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

September 13, 2007

A San Francisco transplant surgeon pleaded not guilty Wednesday to

two felony charges stemming from his alleged efforts to hasten the

death of a prospective organ donor last year.

A lawyer for Dr. Hootan Roozrokh entered the plea on his client's

behalf in San Obispo County Superior Court. The attorney, M.

Gerald Schwartzbach, also filed a motion to have a third count thrown

out because he contends it is legally flawed.

Separately, Judge Tangeman denied a request by prosecutors to

impose a gag order in the case, siding with Schwartzbach and an

attorney representing The Times and other media outlets that it was

an unnecessary restriction on free speech.

Roozrokh, 33, was charged in July with dependent adult abuse,

administering a harmful substance and prescribing controlled

substances without a legitimate medical purpose.

The surgeon allegedly ordered massive amounts of narcotic painkillers

and sedatives for Navarro, a 25-year-old physically and

mentally disabled man, on Feb. 3, 2006. In addition, Roozrokh is

accused of administering Betadine through a feeding tube into

Navarro's stomach, a sterilization procedure typically done after a

donor is dead.

Navarro survived for more than seven hours after he was removed from

life support and given the drugs. By that time, his organs were no

longer viable and could not be recovered.