Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said testimony presented during a six-day hearing into Murray's treatment of the singer had convinced him that allowing the cardiologist to keep his license "would constitute an imminent danger to public safety."
Evidence presented by prosecutors, the judge said, showed "a direct nexus in connection between the acts and omissions of Dr. Murray and the homicide in this case."
Pastor's decision to send the case to trial was widely expected, including by Murray's attorneys, but his defense had strongly contested the loss of his license, calling it a "nuclear option" that would destroy the 57-year-old doctor's ability support his family and mount a criminal defense.
Murray is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 25.
