The defense rested today with the testimony of Dr. Loftus. In my opinion, they ended with a whimper and not a bang. At the end of the day, outside the presence of the jury, Phil Spector waived his right to testify.
I will have an update on today's proceedings much later tonight. Be forewarned; I did not take that many notes today. Listening to the expert on memory almost put me to sleep, other people in the gallery asleep and some of the jury looked like they wanted to take a nap, too.
Right after Professor Loftus testified, Officer Steven Katz (former detective and partner to Detective Lillienfeld, now Lieutenant) took the stand and testified as part of the prosecution's rebuttal case. His testimony is complete. In my opinion, he had one of the best lines of the trial in answer to a question on cross.
More to come...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
52 comments:
No Pie?!!!
Sprocket,
Wow!!
So the defense actually rested? Personally, I wasn't expecting this...so soon :)
Just wanted to Thank You again for all your hard work on this trial. I know I could not have done what have done, day after day.
Stay Strong Sprocket!! That's my advice to you. I know how other people try to intimidate you, and pay no attention to them. All you are doing is reporting the truth!
Thanks for all your time spent reporting to us. But...you have left us hanging with your last line. Will be checking back often
to see just what Officer Katz' line was.
Elizabeth
Come on, Sprocket! Don't keep us in suspense! What was the great line???
Was there any mention of 'the Pie?'
Well, Spector didn't testify (again). Sprocket, I can't thank you enough for covering the trial for us.
David From TN
Sprocket you are the best. Keep up the good work and God bless you.
Since the prosecution, although "out of order" has already put on "rebuttal" to Greg Sims, no matter what the defense could call The Pie--if they want to.
That is actually unexpected, isn't it? What next? Will he be a cellie someday with Madoff so they can talk about money?
best, Christine
You have done an outstanding job of telling us about your days in court. And we all hang on every word wishing we were also there. Thank you for your daily words about this trial
Linda in Tx
It's about time that the defense rests. What else can they bring to the table. How long has this trial lasted?
PIE, the woman we love to hate....
It will be good to hear Nili read Pie's Holiday Letter (where she says Lana "taken violently at the hands of Phil Spector") on the stand. The jurors must really be wondering who/what this Pie is...
I just read an AP story that Howard K.Stern has been charged in L.A. Superior court, along w/2 MDs, in drug/Rx forgeries or somesuch in the death of Anna Nicole. Now WHO will cover this one for us??? We dare not impose on our Sprocket, lest we wear out our collective welcomes.
Wes J.
If Howard K. Stern is tried in LA Superior Court, it will probably receive a fair amount of media coverage.
David From TN
You've got me really curious, Sprocket.... lol
What's next!!!
Hi Sprocket: So what is schedule for the closing arguments? Thanks for your notes.
Can you clear this up........
Spector enters the courtyard,gun in hand.........
Steven Katz in the rebuttal case states until photo and documentation is completed no one touches the gun from where it fell at Lana"s feet.
Am I missing what here???????Love your blog but I am so confused on this point
"In my opinion, he had one of the best lines of the trial in answer to a question on cross.
More to come... "
You are such a tease. LOL.
Thanks as always for all of your work.
Hi Sprocket, just need info for contributing. Thanks, Woot
Folks, Sprocket's interview from last night is up over at Talk Radio One.
http://www.marcgermain.com/files/TRO031209.mp3
Thanks Sprocket!
-Velouria
ahhhhhhhhhh, THE SUSPENSE. You're killin' us here Sprocket. And again as stated above....NO PIE!!!!! Amazing LOL
Putting Pie on the stand just shows how desparate Weinberg must be. She was a total disaster in thw first trial and showed herself to be a liar and complete idiot. I can only imagine that she will drag the defense of this scumbag Spector down even farther. Do you think Jackson would like to get her on the stand again. I would love to see him rip her apart and put Spector in prison where he has belonged for the past six years.
Hi Sprocket,
Are you TRYING to torture us??? Please tell us what the "line" was..! I see there are others here who are dying to know!
Thanks so much (we're not worthy) for all your great coverage of this trial. If not for you, we would all be in the dark and wouldn't be able to visualize what Weinberg is like. I have a pic in my head and it tells me that he has the correct name!
Sprocket said the prosection asked to include involuntary manslaughter. Interesting.
Do I recall this request was also made at the 1st trial?
Although, at that time, it was the DEFENSE who requested it?
The defense also opposed it in the first trial and so did Judge Fidler until the jury deadlocked.
Fidler alomost gave a manslaughter instruction at that point in the first trial but changed his mind, instead redoing the murder instruction.
It is in the second trial that it looks like Fidler will instruct on manslaughter.
The defense does not want it, because the thinking is that it might make the jury more likely to convict Spector of SOMETHING and even with a manslautghter sentence and a gun enhancement Spector at age 68 would probably spend the rest of his life in jail.
I am still waiting for my update, and no I will not be up till 3am again waiting. Well... maybe
Stef
In the first trial the one juror, Number 10, was a peculiar person. I believe that his feelings toward his mother in law were the deciding factors in the way he voted, not the complete picture. It only proves that "rational" people are perhaps not the ones who have any sense. At least that seems the general consensus.
It seems that a manslaughter charge would have made no difference to Number 10, and he had the ability to control to a degree that he was able to deadlock the jury and has certainly gotten his 15 minutes of fame, however questionable.
I still think it was highly suspicious that Spektor's NEIGHBOR hung the jury first time around. Some type of secret "influence" occurred, something that also secured the testimoneys of Pie, Sims & Hayes-Riedl. This neighbor also swayed the other not-guilty juror who was wishy-washy in deliberations, according to fellow jurors. I don’t understand why jurors' and witnesses’ financial records are not thoroughly examined in high profile cases such as this.
JMO
michelle~
You should get money for this reporting.
If someone was trying to murder you, would you open your mouth? Would you allow someone to put a loaded gun into it? I wouldn't. If someone were trying to force me to do anything I did not want done, I would purse my lips so the gun could not enter. Ask yourselves, seriously. If you are going to pull the trigger, you would not get my assistance. Think about this. She had to have opened her mouth. The gun was not forced into her mouth. Whoever pulled that trigger had her permission. There is absolutely no other PHYSICS explanation. If someone told her, "Open your mouth, I am going to put a gun in it." she would have either fought off the assailant or allowed the gun in. There is absolutely no evidence of any struggle. Whe had to have put the gun in her own mouth.
He could have done something to MAKE her open her mouth, like hit her or otherwise cause her pain so that opening her mouth to scream was involuntary. Or she could simply have started to scream because of the situation and he took advantage of the moment to shove the gun in.
Also, he could have been tapping the gun against her face the way he did with others and she was trying to talk him out of it, giving him an opportunity.
If she was fighting him off, but then he cocked the gun (I think it was one where it could be cocked by pulling back on the hammer OR by pulling halfway, but I could be wrong about that -- for sure it could be cocked by pulling it halfway -- I remember that from the first trial). She might have then held still and complied with his orders in the desperate hope that he would come to his senses and STOP once he had gotten his way by putting the gun in her mouth, knowing that he would NOT stop and it might go off if she continued to fight.
I think there are a myriad of ways that the gun could have ended up in her mouth, 99.9% of which point to Phil Spector menacing her with the gun and sticking it in her mouth. I don't think it's as simple as saying ahead of time that you would not open your mouth if you were being assaulted and someone was trying to shove a gun in your mouth. It's one of those things where you don't really KNOW how you will react until it happens to you. The surprise alone could cause you to make a decision that is fatal.
By mlegroner's logic, what we have been told was the St. Valentine's Day Massacre was actually a mass suicide. If someone was trying to murder you, would you line up in an orderly fashion along the wall of a garage? I wouldn't, and if I had a bunch of pals with whom I was engaged in bootlegging,neither would they. If someone were trying to force us to do anything we did not want done, we would purse our lips and insist on standing around the garage in a disorderly manner. Ask yourselves, seriously. If you are going to pull the trigger, you would not get our assistance. Think about this. They were not lined up against their will. Whoever pulled those several triggers had their permission. There is absolutely no other PHYSICS explanation. If someone told them, "Line up over there, so we can shoot you," they would have either fought off the assailants or lined up. There is absolutely no evidence of any struggle. They had to have committed suicide.
Mlegroner,
Your arguement is fundamentally flawed. If she was inclined to scream when the gun was initially brandished, the gun could very well have entered her mouth quickly and fatally. It would appear that she was trying to push his hands (and the gun) away when it went off. So yes, a struggle ensued. There.is.no.way.period.that a woman sitting by the back door with her purse slung over her shoulder, with two wrists weakened by healing fractures, was able to fire that weapon.
mlegroner, you are incorrect in your assumption that victim put the gun in her own mouth. The murderer struggled with her and pulled the trigger. An eye witness saw the murderer come out moments after he heard the shot and saw the gun in the murderers bloody hand and heard him say “I think I killed someone”. This suicide defense is cowardly and victimizes the family further.
Shucks, I'm still "surprised" Henry Lee didn't make an appearance for the defense since he was in Fla. for a short time - The Casey Anthony case"! Of course, after finding 12 hairs (ridiculous)in the trunk of Casey's parents car! Then, of course, Lee let the country. Sad we can't see Lee "doing his thing" in the Spector case again!
Did mlegroner ever consider Lana may have been yelling at Spector to put the gun away when he stuck it in her mouth to keep her quiet.So it's quite possible her mouth was in an open position at the time the gun went into her mouth?
Feb 3, 2003
He tried to make a pass but was too drunk, thankfully. He disappeared to somewhere in the house again, but I’m ready to leave so I walk toward the door. He finally reappears and he’s yelling at me to stop, I look over at him and he has a gun pointed at me! Then in a flash he’s right up in my face with the gun and he pushes me back into a chair. I keep sliding down further, he’s practically laying on me; he’s rubbing the gun all over my face and oh Lord, now he has shoved it in my mouth! Why is he yelling, why is this happening, I am so frightened! I’m trying to push him away but he’s pushing the gun harder; it’s smashing against my teeth, it’s gagging me. Have to get it out of my mouth; I keep trying to push his hands but have to be careful so it doesn’t go off. He’s screaming at me, all of his weight is on me. I’m pushing his hands, I can’t get the gun out, I can hardly breathe, CLICK...
LJC~
Voluntary or involuntary opening one's mouth in face of a gun:
We can speculate until the cows come home on what we would do when faced with a gun. An aspect that is completely forgotten is the fact that both individuals were drunk. When you add that factor into the mix, I don't believe anyone can predict behavior.
The above argument... When threatened you do what the person asks, anything the person asks/tells you to do. If he tells her to open her ***ing mouth then she does it. "Put your hands up." "get face down on the floor" etc. A gun is a powerful object which enables even the smallest person to make a person obey any command. I think he was over her, that she had refused to do some sort of sex act and that he was trying to dominate her completely.
Sprocket, is there going to be an update on Thursday?
mlegroner,
That is the most bizarre thing I have ever read. Why would anyone put a gun in their mouth while they had their purse on their shoulder to leave. You have to get past the purse argument before you can even try to think in some remote chance that it would be self inflicted. Let's not forget Lana was young and beautiful, Spector was/is the old washed up nobody that needed a gun to make women stay the night with him. Let me know when we have any witnesses that will step up and say Lana had to brandish a gun to make someone sleep with her.
Stef
Am I missing something? I keep looking for the rest of testimony from Thursday, I think, but I can't seem to find it. Is it just me?
ANONYMOUS @ 7:30AM 3/14/09: After reading your suggested version of what might have happened on 2/3/03, through the "eyes" of Lana, my eyes welled up and I had an enormous lump fill my throat - because it was such a visual (and horrifying reminder) of what I believe is a very likely scenario of the last minutes/seconds of Lana's life. Based on the facts we know, it seems to make the most sense (and Spector has certainly never offered ANY version of what happened, to ANYONE, that makes sense or is supported, in any way, by the facts that we do know exist).
With regards to the comment by "Mlegroner" - You simply remind me of those people who feel, WOMEN WHO GET RAPED, WERE SOMEHOW "ASKING FOR IT". EITHER IN THE WAY THEY DRESSED, or BECAUSE THEY INVITED A MAN IN FOR A DRINK, etc. And "kudos" to YOU & Dr. DiMaio - Apparently the TWO of YOU know how to wrestle a loaded gun out of the hands of a Drunk'in, BiPolar, Viagra-Horny, Control Freak. But I hope for your sake, you never have to prove this theory.
Update:
I am working on my detailed notes for Thursday as well as trying to get caught up on real life issues. That pesky real life is getting in the way of writing.
Please everyone, understand that T&T is not obligated to publish comments. All we ask is that you be respectful of each other.
Dear Sprocket,
Have a good and restful weekend, you have gone 299% above and beyond the call of duty with your marvelous reports. A few days off sounds more than needed at this point -- of course we are all dying to hear "what next?" in this case which never ceases to amaze.
All best, Christine
Thank you for all your hard work!
Now let's hope the jury goes it's job and puts Mr. Spector behind bars.
If Phil Spector is innocent he should man up and take the stand. No matter about his past he knows what happened to Lana. He thinks he can buy his way out of this and hopfully he won't be able to.
Anonymous 03-14-09 3:28 PM..
Really nothing else has to be said after this. But, that isn't going to happen. Because the little S.O.B. killed Lana Clarkson. Spin it whatever way you want...he killed her. And, for that he should rot in prison & in Hell forever.
I totally agree with you, anonymous (march 14, 2009 3:28 pm)
I think someone needs to take little Philip's crayons and computer away from him when he's drunk in the middle of the night, lol
I have a theory as to how the gun came to be in Lana's mouth that I have not heard from anyone else as yet. What if after they shared a few drinks and he got aggressive she said "No, I'm tired and I want to leave" perhaps he excused himself stating "I'll be back in a few minutes and get the driver to take you back to your car" So she puts her purse over her shoulder and goes to the entry, sits in a chair and waits for him. Now, as I recall from testimony in the first trial, one of the bad act witnesses stated that she had to wait a long time for PS to return to her and when he did he came back with a gun and threatened her with it. OK so Lana, tired from a long day, having had some alcohol to drink, is sitting there in the front entry chair with her purse strap on her shoulder waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, and then...falls asleep...her chin drops...her lips part...and little man Phil with the big ego quietly returns, finds her sleeping, silently opens the hall table drawer, takes the gun out of its holster, holds it in his puny hands and shoves it in Sleeping Beauties mouth...Then feeling in control he would, true to form, shout some degrading obscenities to further prove what a big man he is... at which time Lana wakes finds the gun in her mouth...gags...and whether he meant it to or not...the gun in his hands fires...and she dies, murdered by Phil Spector's hands and not her own. Murder-YES, most definitely.
I want to thank Sprocket for her amazing job of bringing this trial to the public. It's wonderful that her hard work has gotten such vast praise and notice, not only from regular trial watchers, but, also from formidable publications and journalists, who have all gotten to love and respect this spunky and talented lady.
Congratulations on a job well done, Sprocket and friends, for a sensational blog, and some of the most interesting reading on the net. Your blog is a daily habit for me.
-Michele
Bless you Sprocket! Although I'm happy that so many people are greatly interested in this case ... and justice ... and happy for you that your blog has gained tremendous popularity ... and an increase in readership ... sometimes I long for the old days ...
Well said Michele. I am also in the daily habit. And I also read it to my 78 year old mother who was looking forward to the retrial being on Trutv. So she is also grateful for sprocket's blog. It's always a great read. Thank you sprocket for all of your hard work.
Linda in Tx
I am closing these comments for now because there is a new entry. I will try to answer them tomorrow or Tuesday.
I think someone asked how they could donate. There is a link to donate to Scout's surgery fund at the very bottom of label list on the right.
No Pie?
That's correct. No Pie. Pie would be easily impeached by her own words in that Christmas Letter. Weinberg was smart not to call her.
Officer Katz's "best line"
Like I said at the end of my detailed notes for this day, I thought Katz's comment to Weinberg I know that it upsets you I did not write the word "examined" was one of the best lines in the trial, not just for the words, but because of the way it was delivered as well. This was just my opinion as I was in court listening to Officer Katz testifying.
How long as the trial lasted:
It depends on when do you count from. The jurors were involved from the first day of voir dire. I attended most of the pretrial hearings from the last trial forward, as well as pretrial hearings from the first trial, beginning in February, 2007. So, off an on, I've been covering this trial for over two years.
Jury selection started on October 20th, so almost five months ago, exactly.
Howard K. Stern arraignment:
If I'm free, I will try to cover this. It just depends on real life and what I will be doing after Spector ends. I may be looking to go back to work.
The Gun:
That's the big question. De Souza states he saw the gun in Spector's hand when he emerged from the residence and said, "I think I killed somebody." Yet, the gun was found near Lana Clarkson's left leg, and that's where it is in all the evidence photographs taken by police.
Manslaughter & the first trial:
The defense did not want manslaughter in the first trial. If I recall correctly, Fidler did not "rewrite" the instruction for murder. He removed special instruction #3, and wrote an additional, new instruction that basically said the jurors did not have to rely on any theory the prosecution presented; they could come up with their own theory as to what happened at the scene.
This was an amazing trial. Thank you everyone for your kind words and continued support.
Post a Comment