"We will try Phil Spector again," said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. Gibbons said her office was disappointed. Spector sat impassively as the deadlock was announced, as he had during most of the five-month trial.
Judge Fidler declared a mistrial at 1:46 p.m. Jurors have taken six ballots and are split, 10-2.
Fidler polled the jurors, who each affirmed that they believed no further deliberations would help.
After 44 hours of deliberations over 12 days, jurors this afternoon at 1:45 p.m. announced a 10-2 deadlock. The foreman tells the judge six ballots were taken.
Phil Spector has arrived for the court hearing with his wife Rachelle. He's wearing a dark suit and a red tie. He's also accompanied by attorneys Roger Rosen and Linda Kenney Baden, who spearheaded the defense team's efforts.
The jury in the Phil Spector murder trial buzzed twice this morning and reportedly sent out a written communication to Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler. An official later said the jury had halted deliberations, and a court proceeding was scheduled for 1:30 p.m.this afternoon.
It was not known what the proceeding is for, but today's action by the jury was similar to what happened last week when the panel indicated it was deadlocked.
Investigators for Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca have not determined who is responsible for a Web posting deemed a possible threat to Judge Larry Paul Fidler, said spokesman Steve Whitmore this afternoon.
“This was an implied threat,” Whitmore said. “We take any threat against a judicial officer very seriously.”
Rachelle Spector, wife of the defendant, denied any connection or knowledge of the posting, and Whitmore said investigators had uncovered no evidence tying it to her.
A post yesterday on a MySpace page titled the Official Team Spector site stated: "The evil judge should die." The Internet message was signed “Chelle,” which is how some friends know Rachelle Spector, Plourd said. But neither she nor the defense has any idea who is responsible, said Christopher Plourd, one of Phil Spector's defense attorneys. “Absolutely none. We are hoping we can find out who did it," he said. "Rachelle denies being connected to the quote, or knowledge of anything related to it. She took the judge’s admonishment seriously about not talking to anybody. She’s not going to disobey a court order.”
Criminal defense lawyer Robert Shapiro, who represented Spector in the early months of his case, put in an appearance in the downtown Los Angeles criminal courts building this morning.
Walking by Fidler’s courtroom, where Spector has been on trial for five months, Shapiro was asked for comment.
“What trial is that?” Shapiro asked, then ducked into a nearby courtroom.
After replacing Shapiro with defense lawyer Leslie Abramson, who gave way to New York attorney Bruce Cutler, Spector sued Shapiro, claiming his original lawyer owed him at least a portion of the $1-million retainer he paid for legal counsel in his murder case. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2005. Cutler quit on the eve of closing arguments in the murder trial, but Spector still retains a handful of other defense lawyers.
Civil lawyer seeks to block Clarkson's e-mails going public
While jurors deliberated Phil Spector’s fate this morning, Judge Larry Paul Fidler held a brief hearing over items seized from Lana Clarkson's home for use in the trial.
John C. Taylor, representing Clarkson’s mother Donna, asked Fidler to prohibit the “publication or dissemination” of hundreds of documents seized from Clarkson’s computer and entered into evidence. In a civil lawsuit, Clarkson’s survivors claim Spector was responsible for her Feb. 3, 2003, shooting death and seek a financial award. Similar suits prevailed following the acquittals of O.J. Simpson and actor Robert Blake.
The order would cover 5,000 pages of e-mail, 2,000 pages of other documents and any other items seized from Clarkson's home or obtained by subpoena from her mother, Taylor said.
Defense lawyer Christopher Plourd told Fidler he would like to review the order, if the mother's request is granted.
Court officials tell us the Sheriff''s department will investigate a Web posting attributed to Spector's wife as a potential threat against the judge in the murder trial. A post yesterday on a MySpace page titled the Official Team Spector site stated: "The evil judge should die," an apparent reference to Judge Larry Paul Fidler. For emphasis, the letter "E" in evil was capitalized, as was the word "die." The sentence was punctuated by four exclamation points, and the statement was followed by an affectionate "xoxo" and signed off by "Chelle."
Court spokesman Allan Parachini said it is the court's policy to report such postings to the Sheriff's department. No extra security has been ordered for Judge Fidler, Parachini said. The posting has since been taken down.
Rachelle Spector had earlier incited the judge's ire with comments she made in a televised interview. When Fidler ordered her in court to stop speaking publicly about the case, lest she influence the jury, she argued loudly with him. She later wrote a note of apology, which the judge accepted.
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