No retrial until at least spring, lawyers suggest

Despite the judge's insistence on a quick hearing to plan a retrial, Phil Spector probably will not face a jury again for the alleged murder of actress Lana Clarkson until at least next spring, attorneys for the record producer said Thursday.

With changes in his legal team expected, new attorneys would need six months to prepare, said some members of the team in the just-completed trial, which ended in a mistrial Wednesday. The hearing is set for Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Comments

[Mady Maguire J.D.]

If I Had Done It

If I had five months to defend Phil Spector (and all the money it takes to make our team happy), then no matter how famous/infamous the defendant; repulsive the crime or open & shut the evidence—I’ll bet I could get reasonable doubt from at least one juror. One is all you need. You don’t need two, but the one needs another one to make it look like he is not the only irrational one. The odds that I will get at least one juror go up exponentially if during voir dire, I focus on selecting the one juror having the most affinity with the defendant and the business sense to understand that there will be no opportunity for media deals unless the celebrity defendant is found not guilty.

If I was the Los Angeles prosecutor I would eschew the opportunity to grandstand for five months and get that show on and off the road ASAP. For example, I would point out to the Spector/Clarkson jury, in my relatively brief closing argument, that although the defense bombarded them for months with oodles of the most expensive expert scientific evidence that money can buy; they must consider only one thing to refute the defense theory that Lana Clarkson killed herself. The gun that killed Lana Clarkson bore no fingerprints—only the victim could not have wiped them off.

If I was Lana Clarkson’s family I would file a wrongful death civil suit ASAP—before the next dream team or Spector’s mouth candy wife gets what’s left of his money and memorabilia. The defense has no shot for a summary judgment—since the plaintiff has a prima facie case based on res ipsa loquitur.

[A.O.]

I hope the L.A. Times prints the Jurors Handbook which is given to every potential juror when they report for Jury service . There is a lot of useful information to help a juror reach a conclusion . The Handbook helps everyone better understand the procedure . After a trial most attorneys like to discuss the case with jurors and gives the juror the chance to praise or castigate them. Again I hope the Times does a story and prints the Handbook, At least everyone will start off on the same page.

[Guilty or Innocent?]

at least someone is interested in keeping the public aware of Spector's original confession - to Adriano and puportedly the police. Check out the 'confession' t-shirt that's just hit: http://mcontrolblogs.blogspot.com/

[jk]

all I can state is that if I "were" to give Mr. Spector advice on new legal council, then the name I'd say is Vincent Bugliosi. He's the best Los Angeles ever had--and it's rumored that he only takes the defence cases that he can 'win.'
Spector's 'original' confession also included the admission
that "the ( 'expletive' ) shot herself". . .. That's why the prosecution team chose not to use it even though the judge had ruled that they could.

[jk]

Lana's grieving family has already filed a civil suit--long, long, long ago. They're
( supposedly ) biding their time, however, until Mr. Spector is dragged through the system but once again, and a verdict is reached ( maybe they'll get a bigger cash reward ).
How terribly sad though, downright weird, yet extraordinarily telling, that her devastated family is willing to take a red cent from the very person who they believe murdered their loved one.

[Henrique]

Very likely next spring more "hired guns" will be employed. Refer to Lana Clarkson's website: http://www.livingdollproductions.com, "events" section, "Creation" -- she was at this convention to promote her past work. Now, please look closely at the photos of LC. Did she appear to be someone who would end up killing herself at a stranger's house?

[Patterico]

Vincent Bugliosi would never represent Phil Spector.

[robert t. gilleran]

1. judge fidler is a great disappointment.

2. during the trial and with his misconduct with the jury instructions, judge filder did not act as a judge, but as an extra member of steve cooley's nightmare team of prosecutors.

3. if a jury does find phil spector guilty, our legal system, for the creation and preservation of which millions of americans have given their lives, requires that the verdict be reached by a jury without improper interference from any judge.

4. the basic rights of every citizen to due process of law also require that every person accused of anything be given adequate time to prepare for a trial and any retrials.

5. with all of this garbage being spewed out about phil spector having some advantage over other citizens because of his wealth and ability to write checks, many people have overlooked the fact that the party in this case and in every case in los angeles county, with the deepest pockets and the ability to buy more expert and other witness than any individual citizen, is steve cooley's incompetent and dishonest prosecutor's office, which spends our tax dollars to futher their own political careers without any concern about wasting that money, with absolutely no concern about providing a just legal system for the ciitizens of ths county.

6. in the vast majority of the criminal cases in la county, because of the unconsitutionnally inflated bail amounts and the public defenders who, with very minor exceptions have no advice to offer except to plead guilty to the da's accusations, being accused by the da's office is the same as being convicted, no matter how false the accusations are.

7. being used to such as system in which they get automatic convictions without having to bother with the niceties of due process of law and convincing a jury of anything, cooley and his incompetent dishonest minions fly into rages when they actually have to go through a jury trial.

8. the record of the la das of winning cases when they actually have to go through the rules which should apply in the case of every accused citizen is so abominable that it is ludicrous and the amounts of taxpayer money which they use, not to enforce the laws in any equitable manner consistent with due process of law, but to inflate their own egos and advance their own political careers, is disgraceful.

9. for years, we have been tracking the efforts of the la da's office to influence certain judges to cooperate with them and to try to change the rules to take away from the members of juries decisions which, pursuant to our state and federal laws, are solely within the province of juries.

10. we do not know what the da's office or other forces have done to cause judge fidler to ignore his duties as a judge, although we will find out.. however, pushing an early trial date that could not possibly allow any new attorneys hired by spector to be prepared for another trial requires that judge fidler disqualify hinself from any futher participation in the spector case.

11. judge fidler knows this. however, perhaps he thinks that we, the members of the public who pay his salary, do not.

12. we call upon judge fidler to do what he knows to be the only correct course of action for him- recuse himself before attorney general brown or someone else steps foward to disqualify him.

as judge fidler is aware, it is also time for him to resign from the bench before the voters remove him.

robert t. gilleran

[jk]

Do you know Mr. Bugliosi personally?
If so, tell him from those who support Phil, to please help.
I'd even start up a collection for the legal fees.

[jk]

My tee-shirt, that I wear from time to time, has not a single pic of Mr. Spector, but the print reads, yet in small 10 font print: "go Phil go, fight that fight, No Release, No Peace." Of course, I've got my 'back to Mono' badge pinned on my House of Blues book-bag too. I like strong understatements.
I didn't see any of those items up for sale at the site recommended.
Perhaps they should represent both sides fairly in order to reap all benefits.

[IonaTraylor]

To Robert T. Gilleran

(Proper capitalization, spelling and punctuation are important if you want to express you opinion in a rational way.)

Spector is guilty. He confessed to killing Lana twice. He covered up the evidence and re-arranged the crime scene. End of story.

“judge fidler is a great disappointment.” I disagree. I have enormous respect for this Judge. He’s done an impressive and fair job. In Spector I, he used every delaying tactic he could and will continue to do so, unless the Judge sets a reasonable time frame.

It was Phil Spector’s lawyer Dennis Riordan who crafted the Special Instruction that the Judge should have thrown out before deliberation began.

Yes, Spector has a definite advantage because of his wealth. His plan is to do everything he can to avoid going to prison. He’s had 3 long years of freedom, since the murder. His money has been able to buy a succession of paid “expert witnesses” whose testimony was so beyond the realm of reason (not to mentions science) they came off as paid hacks.

Lucky for Phil he’s rich.

Lana is still dead.

[Gilles V. Benoit]

To whom is concerned;

How are you? I hope this finds you well. I will refer to two books, "The Creators", by Daniel J. Boorstin, maybe the best book I ever read, which states that music it the only one of the arts that leads to insanity.

The second book Edgar Cayce's story of Karma, karma meaning action, where you can divide the words, describing the action...

eg. insanity (in / sanity)
- disable (dis/able, this able)
- it works with every word, sometimes it defers to French, such as unable ( un/able un meaning one)...

I vote he was probably sane enough to take apart his gun, clean it.

Did he take apart the person, panicked when he wasn't able to clean up so to speak, so the lawyers will try to clean up the mess he made...

L'amitie, Gilles V. Benoit!

[robert t. gilleran]

iona traylor,

1. we do not bother spell checking and cap checking emails as we do court briefs, pleadings, jury instructions, and other things.

2. however, based on your anger, we certainly got our points across and put you on the defensive.

3. as you well know, no single individual should determine the guilt or innocence of any person accused of any crime in our legal system.it is also completely improper for any judge to take the side of the prosecution or the defense.

4. we do not know whether of not phil spector is guilty. if we had any opinions, we would be intelligent enough to know that such determinations are properly made only by a jury, without interference from any judge, not by you or by us.

5. based on what you have written, you appear to be trying to defend the la da's office, which has a long history of incompetence and corruption, and/or judge fidler, who, despite his many fine record in many cases over the years, has knowingly crossed the boundaries of what is proper and improper conduct for any judge during any trial.

6. with all of your spellchecking and cap checking, you cannot hide the fact that you would be more at home as a grand inquisitor or in the so called legal systems of nazi germany, russia, iran and those other countries in which being accused is the same thing as being convicted.

7. for years, the la da's office has been promoting that exact type of inquisitorial system and pressuring certain judges to go along with their program.

8. this is not the type of legal system for which our forefathers fought and died and for which our young men and women are still fighting and dying.

9. if you prefer another type of legal system, without due process of law, we can suggest that you try some other country, like north korea, russia, or china.

10 we have been collecting evidence on the incompetence and corruption in the la da's office for years and on the judges who have signed up for the da's grand inquisitor program.

11. we are doing quite well with our innocence projects all over the us in getting out of jail many completely innocent people falsely convicted by grand inquisitor type legal systems all over the us.

12. this project, making the activities and complete histories of certain da's and prosecutors and judges transparent to the voters, is just an extension of our innocence projects and is starting to produce a lot of wins for the forces of good.

13. to the extent that you have some monetary interest in trying to insulate the la da's office or judge fidler from the consequences of having their actions made fully transparent to the voters, we suggest that you start looking for another job.

14. if you are somehow related to the woman who tragically died in this incident, we certainly understand your anger and desire for vengence. however, putting phil spector behind bars without a fair trial, consistent with due process of law is not the answer nor does the la da's office give a damn about guilt or innocence or people getting killed. they are just involved in this case and most other cases to futher their political careers and to inflate their egos in the face of a continuing string of embarrassing defeats in high profile cases.

15. in addition, they are using our money to accomplish their personal objectives.

have a nice day dreaming about bringing back the system used during the inquisition,

robert t. gilleran

[A.O.]

To R.T.Gilleran : I do not agree of your observations or conclusions as you have entered a maelstrom into insanity , It is not your fault . Everyone did not request to be born but since we are here , I hope we can make the best of it. I agree , that it is better that one decillion of the guilty go free than convict one innocent person. You are confused and assaulting the wrong D.A. office. I always assumed the COUNTY D.A. office that handled the prosecution , but you have more knowledge and know the Los Angles D.A. handled it. . You mention a woman died , how do you know that she was not killed ? The limo driver seen your champion holding the gun , are stating that the driver is a liar ? You do not like the judge , My question is : What judge would you prefer , to Handel the case ?? Judge Lance Ito ?? Please name your competent judge ?? You and your "we" are unhappy with the Judicial system , Which system is better ?? or what court cases have met your good housekeeping seal of approval ?? Exactly what evidence would it take , for you to change your mind ?? Please be specific . What do think of the transcript's your victim made ?? Better yet , You name just one indisputable fact or evidence that indicates your victim is innocent . What about Lana ?? As bias as my doggy and I are ! I can feel it in my bones, beyond a reasonable doubt that P.S. shot her because he is was a drunk , nasty , foul mouth psycho that likes to intimate women with his guns ( his neighbors heard gunfire , many times ) You and your WE please be specific instead of rants and vague remarks with no substance. P.S. What do you think about IGGY ?

[robert t. gilleran]

1. judge fidler appears to be caught in a trap of his own making.

2. in his zeal to help the la da's office put phil spector away, judge fidler has set an impossible time frame for any serious new attorney to prepare to retry this case for phil spector.

3. judge fidler set a deadline og 10/23/2007, obviously hoping that spector would be driven to hire one of those defense attorneys who will just go through the motions of defending phil spector, but will really be just another prosecutor, like judge fidler.

4. judge fidler certainly knows that no one at cooley's office could possibly win a case against competent opposition. however, judge fidler also knows that people are watching him very closely, including a number of federal judges.

5. having lost his who is going to blink 1st contest against spector and his attorneys, it really is time for judge fidler to recuse himself.

6. after all, should he take the next step and appoint some flunky for cooley's office to railroad spector, there is no shortage of fine attorneys to prepare the motions and win them in federal court, not only to remove judge fidler from this case, but to move the trial to federal court, where cooley's office has no influence whatsoever and a very well deserved reputation for corruption and incompetence.

7. we sincerely hope that judge fidler does not make those motions in federal court necessary. after all, until fairly recently, judge fidler had a fine record as a judge.

8. we do not yet know how cooley's office got to judge fidler. however, based on similar departures from normal behavior of fine judges, cushy jobs at large law firms that defend insurance companies sometimes come in to play, as do well paying sinecures with various county agencies.

have a nice day,

bob gilleran

[A.O.]

Oh my : I read the prior post by Mr. Gilleran and stand corrected , concerning the L.A. City Attorney and L.A. county District Attorney . Now that I have fulfilled my penance and given myself absolution, I can now rejoin society and its burden within its Judicial system as a peer thus enter chucks and jive . What is this ! The jury foreman stated " perhaps the Phil Spector told the limo driver to call 911 " Oh My ! PERHAPS ! A juror can draw inference from testimony,edvidence presented but not invent it or even consider it during deliberation . JW ! , JL ! JK ! What do you have to say about this heinous violation ?? Is there not 12 jurors that can read and understand the print instead of looking at the paper , which the print is on . I'm appalled , outraged if this is true , beyond a reasonable doubt . Att: Dennis Riordan ! You like to nit-pick , What do you have to say ??

[A.O.]

Linda K. Baden ! stated (along with jive chucks) stated to the jury (at closing) : " look at the science , seek the truth " The Reason she said this , was for the reason, The truth she found pointed back at her client. She then entered the world of semantics and concepts to create the thought of doubt , to protect the reincarnation of the Marque De Sade . Now the Beast has been given a reprieve from society , by the gullible . My doggy and Lady Justice cried , but fell on deaf ears .

Phil Spector is guilty. Most likely he locked poor Lana in the house from the inside and had the key in his pocket. She did not commit suicide, that is plain ridiculous and only a paid moron would have reasonable doubt that is what happened.

Judge Fidler's integrity is above reproach.