Friday, March 20, 2009

Phil Spector Retrial: Day Sixty

I did not attend court today.

Harriet Ryan of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that jurors will have the option of involuntary manslaughter when they decide Spector's fate.
Posted by Sprocket at 2:27 PM
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31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent. That means there's a 150% chance that Spector is going down.

March 20, 2009 at 2:49 PM
Anonymous said...

No doubt precisely what Judge Fidler was thinking when he decided to instruct on manslaughter.

March 20, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Anonymous said...

God bless you, Judge Fidler!!

It is now a certainty that Mr. Spector will be found guilty. I will take the lesser charge because at Mr. Spectors age he will most likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Let me set the scene.....

The buzzer goes off and the jury has reached their decision................ Judge Fidler instructs everyone in the courtroom that there will be no outburst regardless of the verdict.................... Mr. Spector is instructed to stand.......... the deputies immediately stand behind Mr. Spector.......... the verdict is read............. GUILTY.........Judge Fidler orders Spector to be taken into custody immediately........ Spector is handcuffed and taken away.........

Bye-bye, Philip!

March 20, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Anonymous said...

Yeah. Little Philly will be doing time.

March 20, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Anonymous said...

It's not that the arrogant little *&%$ didn't ask for it.

March 20, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Anonymous said...

I wonder what Rachelle will do if he is found guilty? I just have this gut feeling that she will try to attack the judge or AJ.

March 20, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Geralyn said...

The words "don't drop the soap, Philip" come to mind. This is wonderful news!!! He is absolutely going down for this. I cannot say enough about AJ and JF. They are both extraordinary.
Many thanks go out to the T&T team for keeping us informed in the developments in this case. Sprocket, you deserve a nice long vacation after all of your work. Do we know how the verdict will come down and be relayed to us yet? I'm still holding out hope that someone will stream closings and the verdict live like KTLA.

March 20, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Sprocket said...

I hope to be the first to report that a verdict has been reached.

Like I've mentioned before, I will be hanging out in 106, waiting to hear those three buzzes.

I will be blogging online, from inside 106....as long as I can get the WIFI connection to work.

March 20, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Anonymous said...

Sprocket, when will you start hanging out? I take it the closing arguments are Mon-Wed, then Thurs. the Jury gets instructed, go into deliberation, and then.... it's waiting?

March 20, 2009 at 9:35 PM
Anonymous said...

Since CA is a Community Property state, all assets acquired/earned by Phil Spector before he married the nitwit are his. It is in her best interest that Phil gets a not guilty verdict, so she can take 50%ownership in his 'comeback' - i.e. the new Amy Winehouse recording, along with royalty payments from his previous work.

I'm sure she has already retained counsel for advice on how to become the trustee or some such to ensure she will have full control of his assets until and beyond his death, in the event of a guilty verdict.

March 20, 2009 at 9:53 PM
Anonymous said...

I don't want to get too convinced he's going down. After what happened at the 1st trial and that IDIOT jurer #1 OMG if he's not a complete BOOB than the only other answer is he was paid off! and who knows what jurer they got to for this trial. If they don't come back with a decision within the few hours then I believe he will be found NOT GUILTY. Good thing I don't live in CA....I feel so bad for Lana's family.

March 21, 2009 at 6:03 AM
Anonymous said...

It will be a battle royal for his assets between "the Mrs" and any children still considered his heirs. Or he could get wise and initiate divorce proceedings first.

And would not the heirs stand to inherate only after the various lawsuits are settled?

March 21, 2009 at 6:10 AM
Anonymous said...

He's afraid, very afraid. He knows he's guilty and finally has to pay for it.

PS IS GUILTY

March 21, 2009 at 6:11 AM
Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 9:53 pm

I respectfully disagree. PS might be many things, but he's not clueless. All throughout his life he has known how to hold his money, hold it from or over people. In this case, he might let RS think she is in control, but in the end, he will have the last laugh.

I'm sure he'll pay her something, but it won't be as much as she was hoping. That's probably why she sleeps in court so much.

Best,
John

March 21, 2009 at 6:25 AM
Anonymous said...

AJ For President in 2012! Who in our reading audience wouldn't vote for him?!

Answer: Philip!

March 21, 2009 at 7:07 AM
Sprocket said...

Waiting:

I will be down at the courthouse all next week. If things go smoothly, the jury "could" get instructed on Wednesday afternoon but I'm not not holding out hope for that.

My best guess is, they will get instructed on Thursday morning and then they go into the jury room to deliberate. Once they start deliberating we will be on verdict watch. The courtroom is open during that time (except for the lunch hour) and I will be there in the courtroom, on my laptop, if I can get connected to the free WIFI the courthouse now has.

I hope to be the first to report hearing those three buzzes that a verdict has been reached.

Real property & civil suits:
I have no idea if Spector insisted on a prenup when he married Rachelle, so it remains to be seen what happens to any future income once the Clarkson family civil case goes to trial.

Spector settled with the hotel that was suing him. I got notice that the case will be formally dismissed in April, I believe on the 16th, or there about, in another courthouse.

March 21, 2009 at 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...

I think deliberations could take a while but it'll be between murder and manslaughter. There is no way PS is found not guilty.

It wouldn't suprise me to see it take 3-4 days to arrive at a consensus, especially if the jurors decide to review a lot of the numerous exhibits they'll have at their disposal. Ever since the OJ debacle, I think jurors want to appear thorough and review the evidence even if guilt is obvious.

PS's only hope is another hung jury but with the lesser included charge this is an extreme longshot unless he has in fact engaged in jury tampering like he seems to have engaged in witness tampering.

March 21, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Anonymous said...

Did I read someplace that closing arguements will be televised? Does anyone know if thats the case and maybe what time they are scheduled to start?

March 21, 2009 at 9:42 AM
Anonymous said...

What is the sentence for inv. manslaughter in California?

March 21, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Sprocket said...

There will be a camera in the courtroom but it is unknown what particular station will filming the closing arguments.

It is unknown if it will be live streamed over the internet.

I do not have a confirmation from Beth Karas if TruTV will or will not be covering it. She said she would try to find out if her station is sending anyone. As far as she knows, she is not going.

March 21, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Anonymous said...

sprocket. Thanks again for this coverage. I am anxious for this to all end. Will the jury deliberate on Fridays? I know court is normally dark on Friday.

Nan

March 21, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Sprocket said...

Jury deliberations:

Yes, the jury will be able to deliberate on Fridays.

Keep in mind that Monday March 30th and Tuesday March 31st are dark due to a state holiday on Tuesday.

March 21, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Anonymous said...

Hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, Sprocket! Are cameras allowed in the courtroom? If so, will you be snapping any pictures at the conclusion of the trial? When they're handcuffing Spector?

March 21, 2009 at 2:01 PM
Anonymous said...

This is the link to a good profile for DA Alan Jackson:
http://www.lawcrossing.com/article/3656/Down-Home-Deputy-District-Attorney-Alan-Jackson:-Prosecutor-for-the-Phil-Spector-Trial/

Amazing how much much more dashing he looks today compared to the AirForce days---probably cause you can't see the kiss-curl hair under the cap.

March 21, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Sprocket said...

Photography:

I will not be snapping pictures.

There are huge signs in the lobby of the Criminal Court building that state all photography is prohibited. (Rachelle Short has been told by Judge Fidler more than once that pictures taken of people inside the court building are illegal.)

You have to get approval from the Public Information Office to do any type of photography. All requests have to be on a special form and approved by a Judge. The only floors/areas exempt from this would be the District Attorney's office.

March 21, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Anonymous said...

PS looks very unwell. I wonder about the medical visits. What if he reveals to the judge that he has a terminal illness? Could that modify the sentencing? I think the money is quickly running out. I'd bet the vehicles are leased, the Castle is mortgaged to the hilt, the hotel has reached their agreement. The endless legal expenses, the expensive professionals he's had to pay, the list seems endless. And, the civil suit looms. He's got $ from his retirement pension, Social Security will stop,and RS will need provided for as well. Man. No matter how rich he once was, this has had to make a serious dent in the bank account. Can his lawyer appeal the verdict if it goes against him?

March 21, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Anonymous said...

I agree he looks bad but he was no prize to begin with. Further, he only missed a couple days to something that sounds non-terminal. Terminally ill people show DRASTIC signs in their physical and/or mental capacities in most cases. They can't show up 4 days a wk like this. Not being a lawyer, I would think it is not grounds for a soft sentence or "home detention" even if true.

At an age when most people are settling into retirement years, he still faces--at minimum--three pending lawsuits and brutal expenses and who-knows how much energy and time connected with that. And yes, he mortgaged his house that, when purchased, had been pd for in cash. Nobody does that when they have sufficient cash on hand. And that was just before the first trial even started. Personally I hope Rachelle ends up in a camper-trailor in Temecula. There are some good deals on Hurricane Katrina-returned trailors, asbestos and all.

March 21, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Anonymous said...

In the profile of Alan Jackson mentioned above, he credits a law professor at Pepperdine with teaching him a technique, but it is AJ who does it in court. This is talking WITH the jury rather than TO a jury.

AJ also says in this profile, "You can go as far as the jurors invite you to go emotionally. Instead of lecturing the juries, I tell them, 'I'm going to visit with you.' That's a Southernism. I don't want to talk TO the jury, especially in an opening statement or a closing argument; I want to talk WITH the jury, and I want them to move with me through the evidence, and I want them to move with me through the emotions," Jackson explains.

During the first Spector trial on Court TV, one host or commentator after another said that Alan Jackson was best attorney they had ever seen from the LA County District Attorney's office. They said he was far better than the prosecutors on the Menendez, Simpson, and Blake trials.

David From TN

March 21, 2009 at 8:54 PM
Anonymous said...

Phil Spector is innocent!!

Spectorfan8

March 22, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Sprocket said...

Guilt or Innocence:

I notice Spectorfan8 did not post their support on the thread containing all of Spector's self incriminating statements.

It is difficult to defend the indefensible, especially when the other party involved confess to causing Lana Clarkson's death.

March 22, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Anonymous said...

I wouldn't be 100% about a guilty verdict of either charge. Irregardless, they'll be an appellate case for sure. I'm a law student and just spent 9 hours in the library so I'm not getting into the reasons why now.. but I wouldnt be 100% on a conviction under either and if so, they'll be an appeal (whether he'll win the countless issues that will be brought up, I have no idea..)

March 23, 2009 at 7:37 PM

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