Phil Spector & the Judge

I'm sure everyone is wondering how that motion to get Fidler kicked off of Spector's case is doing. Court papers were released much earlier today, that documented Fidler's rejection of the motion.

A week earlier on March 19th, Judge Fidler made a written declaration that he was not biased or prejudiced against any party in the case. Fidler went on to say, that the motion filed by Spector attorney Doron Weinberg was untimely and any protests of the judge's actions should have been filed when they occurred during the trial.

Weinberg is appealing to the state court of appeals for the motion to be heard by a neutral judge. I recently found out where an appeal motion of this type could be heard. From my understanding the motion is sent to another county, possibly Orange County to be heard by a judge there. I have no information on when that might happen, if the appeals court grants Weinberg's motion.

One of the more interesting arguments in the motion is the mentioning of Fidler issuing a gag order against the one and only Trial Bride, Rachelle Short, as well as the re-crafted jury instruction. Anyone who watched the news or the trial would agree that Rachelle needed to STFU because her behavior in court was deplorable. I think Fidler had every right to put a rag in her mouth. It was well deserved. The big question is, do any of the arguments presented in the motion have merit? That re-written jury instruction is another matter though. I've heard many opinions that the new instruction was too biased towards the prosecution. Will the appeals court grant Weinberg's request to have his motion heard by a neutral judge? Will Spector round deux get off the ground in August, 2008? I still think the launch date to any new trial will hinge on how smoothly Chris Plourd's other trials move along at a snails pace. My prediction is late 2008, or more likely, early 2009 for the kick off.

CNN.Crime