It was a wait that lasted more than seven months.

Charges of involuntary manslaughter have finally been filed against Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, on February 8, 2010.

There have been reports of a disagreement between the District Attorney’s (DA) office and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) regarding the manner by which Murray would appear—whether he should quietly turn himself in; or arrested, handcuffed and brought into the courthouse, and consequently, paraded in front of TV cameras. Both the DA’s office and the LAPD denied any such squabbling.

Sources for TMZ claimed that representatives of Murray’s lawyers put out word that Murray will appear in court on Monday, voluntarily, whether the case was filed or not.

Meanwhile, Murray has reportedly visited the Forest Lawn cemetery to pay his respects to the fallen star the weekend before the case filing. A camera snapped his photo outside, which landed as an exclusive on TMZ on February 7,2010, and a subsequent video clip was soon obtained by Entertainment Tonight.

Prior to the charges being filed, reports also surfaced that Murray’s defense tactic would involve Michael Jackson himself as the key witness for defense. Meaning, they were planning to show collected video footage of the star to suggest that the global pop icon knew how to self-administer drugs and had been battling prescription drug addiction for at least 15 years.

Reports had it that they would show footage of a frail Jackson during his “This Is It” rehearsals, a 2007 court deposition where he discussed being medicated for various pains, and various clips wherein he appeared intoxicated.

The involuntary manslaughter case against Murray puts Jackson’s death in his hands, although doing so without malice. If convicted, Murray would face four years in prison. Meanwhile, prosecutors already filed a motion to revoke his license.

But to get a conviction, which legal experts had said would be an uphill climb, the prosecutors must convince jurors that Jackson’s death went beyond accident and that Murray was criminally negligent.

Officials have ruled that Jackson’s death was due to an overdose of the powerful anesthetic, propofol, among several drugs in his system. While Murray admitted to administering the drugs in the hours leading to the 50-year-old’s death, his lawyer’s initial statement shortly after was that their client gave Jackson nothing that should have killed him.

On the day of the case filing, Murray marched somberly into court amid chants of “murderer” from Jackson’s fans outside; inside, he faced the angry members of the Jackson family, including grieving mother Katherine Jackson.

Reuters then reported that Murray’s attorney once again addressed the media outside the courthouse, saying this whole situation was a “nightmare” for his client, one reason being that “he lost a friend” when the pop superstar died.

Legal observers have noted that the case will clearly be a battle of medical experts; others noted that perhaps it would set legal precedents, including harsher laws and punishment for doctors caught in the same situation.

A day after Murray was charged, it has also been reported that the Medical Board of California has labeled Murray a “danger to the public.”

Murray, 56, pled not guilty to the charge filed against him, and posted bail of $75,000.