Caplan agrees to testify

Sara Caplan, the Beverly Hills attorney held in contempt last month for declining to testify before the jury in the Phil Spector murder case, agreed this morning to do so.

Superior Court judge Larry Fidler, who had threatened Caplan with contempt, asked if she is prepared to testify.

“Yes I am, your honor,” Caplan responded this morning.

Caplan’s about-face came after the state Supreme Court yesterday turned down her appeal of the contempt order. She was Spector’s lawyer in 2003, when she said she saw a defense forensic expert, Henry Lee, remove evidence from the foyer where Lana Clarkson was shot to death.

The prosecution’s lengthy effort to force Caplan to testify has provided the most intriguing sideshow to the trial, which has dragged on for more than two months. She has wept repeatedly in court appearances.