Caplan to jail?

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear an appeal from an attorney who was ruled in contempt of court for refusing to testify in the Phil Spector murder trial. Sara Caplan, a former lawyer for Spector, now faces possible jail time. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ruled Caplan in contempt last month, after she cited attorney-client privilege and her duty of loyalty to her client to argue she could not testify before the jury about defense expert Henry Lee. In May, Caplan, outside the presence of the jury, said she saw Lee pick up a fingernail-sized object from the crime scene in Spector’s home the day after Clarkson’s slaying. Prosecutors have said they believe the item was a piece of Clarkson’s acrylic thumbnail, blown off when the gun that killed her was fired in her mouth. The broken nail could show Clarkson was holding her hand in front of her face and therefore could not have fired the gun. Lee, both in testimony before Fidler and in later statements to the news media, has vigorously denied he found such an object. But based largely on Caplan's testimony, Fidler ruled that Lee withheld evidence from prosecutors, and said they could call her as a witness to describe Lee's actions. Fidler is expected to address the Supreme Court decision Thursday.