Alan Jackson's Sentencing Recomendations for Phil Spector

I'm sure you've seen in the news the brief reports of the prosecution's sentencing recommendations for Phil Spector as well as monetary restitution recommendations. Here is the DA's Sentencing Memorandum as well as the Notice Of Motion and Motion To Request Restitution For Victim; Memorandum of Points and Authorities. The documents were manually typed out by me from copies of the motions so T&T's readers could see the entire documents themselves.

Many of T&T's readers have written asking when will Spector be sentenced. Sentencing is scheduled for May 29th, at 11:00 am in Department 106. Many of you in the public have indicated to me that you plan on attending. I know there is a heightened interest in seeing Spector in prison garb and without his wig. I do not know if that will be the case. I have heard that he could be allowed to wear a suit and his wig for any appearance in court, while other sources tell me that he will be in prison garb. Since Spector recently found religion, it will be interesting to see if he will be wearing his newly acquired yarmakule with or without his hair piece, in court.

(Please note that there were some typographical errors in the motions that I left intact. I did not copy the Exhibits which had quite a bit of information redacted, to further protect the privacy of the victims.)

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STEVE COOLEY
District Attorney
By: ALAN JACKSON, Deputy District Attorney
By: TRUC DO, Deputy District Attorney
Major Crimes Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
210 W. Temple Street, 17th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

Plaintiff,

vs.

PHILLIP SPECTOR,

Defendant

Case No.: BA255233

SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

DATE: 5-29-09
TIME: 8:30 AM
DEPT.: 106

TO: THE HONORABLE LARRY FIDLER, JUDGE OF THE ABOVE-ENTITLED COURT, Doron Weinberg, counsel for Defendant, and PHillip Spector, Defendant:

The People of the State of California submit the following Sentencing Memorandum for the Court's consideration.

DATED: May 19th, 2009

Respectfully Submitted

STEVE COOLEY
District Attorney of
Los Angeles County

By

(signature)

ALAN JACKSON, DDA

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SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

I.

INTRODUCTION

The defendant in the above-entitled case as convicted by a jury on April 13, 2009 of Count 1, second degree murder (Penal Code section 187(a)). The jury further found the allegation that the defendant personally used a firearm (Penal Code section 12022.5(a)) to be true.

II.

SUMMARY OF FACTS

Victim Lan Clarkson was working at the House of Blues on February 2-3, 2003, when the defendant came in to the club with a female companion. Defendant Phillip Spector arrived at the club at about 1:45 a.m. on February 4. Prior to arriving at the House of Blues, Spector had been to two other bars and a restaurant. He had been drinking at each location, and continued to drink once at the House of Blues. Spector and his dates had been driven to the various locations that evening and early morning in Spector's black Mercedes by Spector's driver, Adriano De Souza.

At around 2:00 a.m., Spector was attempting to coax Lana Clarkson, who was working in the V.I.P. Foundation Room, to go home with him. By 2:30 a.m., Spector left the club and was escorted to his car by the victim. Once at the car, Spector became insistent that the victim accompany him for a drink at his "castle." Lana finally relented, and the two were driven by De Souza to 1700 Grandview in Alhambra.

After dropping Spector and Lana off at the front steps. De Souza parked the car on the motor court in front of the rear door to the house.

At about 5:00 a.m., De Souza heard a loud "pow." He got out of the Mercedes and walked around the motor court. Everything seemed okay, so he returned to the driver's seat of

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the Mercedes. Within a minute, Spector opened the back door of the house and stood in the doorway. DeSouza got out of the Mercedes and faced Spector. Spector was still wearing the light-colored jacked he had worn throughout the prior evening and early morning. Spector held a revolver in his right hand across the front of his abdomen. Spector confessed to DeSouza, "I think I killed somebody."

DeSouza looked around one side of Spector into the rear foyer of the house. He could see Clarkson's legs extending outward. He looked arounf the other side of Spector and could see Clarkson's upper body. Clarkson was slumped in a chair with blood on her face. Within seconds De Souza called for help, dialing both Spector's assistant and 9-1-1.

Spector never called for help.

What De Souza did not know at the time, and what the evidence showed, was that Spector had pulled a loaded gun from the bureau drawer and threatened Lana with it as she attempted to leave the residence. As Lana was seated in a chair by the back door with her purse slung on her right shoulder Spector produced the gun, the end result of which was Lana being shot through the mouth as she recoiled in fear.

Lana Clarkson was the last in a series of victims to suffer homicidal assaults at the hands of Phil Spector. As this Court heard during the trial, Spector has been pulling guns on women for decades. This Court heard from six women, each of whom recounted the chilling details of their encounters with Spector in which Spector pulled guns on them and promised that he could and would kill them.

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III

SENTENCE

A. THE DEFENDANT SHOULD BE SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON

California Penal Code section 187(a).

The sentence for Count 1 in this case is mandatory. "[E]very person guilty of murder in the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 15 years to life." Cal. Pen. Code § 190(a) (2003).

California Penal Code section 12022.5(a)

In addition to the life term mandated above, the defendant should be sentence to an addition and consecutive term of 10 years (high term) for his personal use of a gun. The Code sets out that "any person who personally uses a firearm in the commission of a felony . . . shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prision for 3, 4 or 10 years." Cal. Pen. Code § 12022.5(a) (2003). In order to properly determin whether the lower, middle or upper term should be imposed, the court must look to circumstances in mitigation and aggravation. Cal. Rules Of Court 4.420(a) (2003).

In this case, the interests of justice would be served by imposition of the mid term for the gun use enhancement. The defendant should be sentenced to an additional and consecutive term of four years in state prison. Moreover, the determinate portion of the sentence (i.e. the four years) must be served first. People v. Polk (1982) 131 Cal.App.3d 764.

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B. CREDITS

Pursuant to Penal Code section 190(3), the defendant is entitled to no conduct credit reduction in his sentence. Cal. Pen. Code § 190(e) (2003); Cal. Pen. Code § 2933.2 (2003).

IV

SENTENCE COMPUTATION

Count 1: PC 187(a), second degree murder ... 15 to Life

PC 12022.5(a), ... 4 years (determinate)

TOTAL TERM: 15 to Life + 4 years = 19 to Life

DATED: May 19, 2009

Respectfully Submitted

STEVE COOLEY
District Attorney of
Los Angeles county

By

(signature)

ALAN JACKSON
Deputy District Attorney

-----------

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STEVE COOLEY
District Attorney
By: ALAN JACKSON, Deputy District Attorney
By: TRUC DO, Deputy District Attorney
Major Crimes Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
210 W. Temple Street, 17th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

Plaintiff,

vs.

PHILLIP SPECTOR,

Defendnat

Case No.: BA255233

NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION TO REQUEST RESTITUTION FOR VICTIM; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES; EXHIBITS

DATE: 5-29-09
TIME: 8:30 AM
DEPT.: 106

TO: THE HONORABLE LARRY FIDLER, JUDGE OF THE ABOVE-ENTITLED COURT, Doron Weinberg, counsel for Defendant, and PHillip Spector, Defendant:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on May 29, 2009 at 11:00 a.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA will move this Honorable Court to order restitution on behalf of the victim(s) in this case.

This Motion will be based upon this Notice of Motion and Motion, and the files and pleadings of the above-entitled matter, the grand jury and trial transcripts, the attached Points and Authorities, and on such other evidence and argument as may be introduced at the hearing on this Motion.

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DATED: May 18, 2009

Respectfully Submitted

STEVE COOLEY
District Attorney of
Los Angeles county

By

(signature)

ALAN JACKSON
Deputy District Attorney

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MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

I.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

As this Court presided over the trial matter in this case, for brevity's sake the People will forego a detailed recitation of the facts.

II.

ARGUMENT

A. RESTITUTION IS MANDATORY EVEN WHEN THE DEFENDANT IS SENTENCED TO STATE PRISON

Article 1, Section 28 of the California Constitution states:

It is the unequivocal intention of the People of the State of California that all persons who suffer losses as a result of criminal activity shall have the right to restitution from the person convicted of the crimes for losses they suffer. [¶] Restitution shall be ordered from the convicted persons in every case, regardless of the sentence or disposition imposed, in which a crime victim sufers a loss, unless compelling and extraordinary reasons exist to the contrary. (Emphasis supplied).

The statutory framework requiring persons convicted of any crime to pay restitution is found in Government Code section 13967(a), which states in pertinent part:

Upon a person being convictd of any crime in the State of California, the court shall, in addition to any other penalty provided or imposed under the law, order the defendant to pay restitution in the form of a penalty assessment in accordance with section 1464 of the Penal Code, and to pay restitution to the victim... (Emphasis supplied).

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B. THE DEFENDANT MUST FILE WITH THE COURT A SPECIFIC AND DETAILED FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

California law mandates that "the defendant shall prepare and file a disclosure identifying all assets, income, and liabilities in which the defendant held or controlled a present or future interest as of the date of the defendant's arrest for the crime for which restitution may be ordered." Cal. Pen. code § 1202.4(f)(5) (2009) (emphasis supplied). In this instance, the People have supplied the defendant with both the standard CR-115 Judicial Council form as well as a more detailed Asset and Liability form in order to facilitate this Court's accurate determination of the defendant's financial condition. Such financial disclosure shall be made available to the victim and/or their representatives pursuant to Section 1214, which states that "upon the victim's request, the court shall provide the victim in whose favor the order of restitution is entered with a certified copy of that order and a copy of the defendant's disclosure . . . ." Cal. Pen code § 1214(b) (2009).

The spirit underlying such disclosure is to ensure that the victim has access to "all resources available under the law to enforce the restitution order, including, but not limited to, access to the defendant's financial records . . . and information regarding the defendant's assets . . ." Id. This is so because this Court's restitution order "shall be fully enforceable by a victim as if the restitution order were a civil judgment." Id.

For purposes of this Court's restitution order, "victim" is defined as "[t]he immediate family of the actual victim." Cal. Pen. Code § 1202.4(k)(1) (2009). In this case, Lana Clarkson' immediate family members include her mother, Donna Clarkson, her sister, Fawn Clarkson, and her brother, Jeff Clarkson.

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C. THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE IS ENTITLE TO A RESITUTION ORDER FOR ECONOMIC LOSSES SUFFERED AS THE RESULT OF SPECTOR'S MURER OF LANA CLARKSON

Phillip Spector murdered Lana Clarkson on February 3, 2003, for which crime he was convicted on April 13, 2009. As a result of such murder, Lana's family has experienced untold suffering, including substantial economic losses. Any and all of those economic losses must be the subject of this court's restitution order. In an non-exhaustive list, the California legislature has identified some of the economic losses for which the victim is entitiled to full reimbursement from the defendant. Cal Pen. Code § 1202.4(f)(3)(A)-(K) (2009). In this case, certain of the economic losses of the victims due to the defendant Spector's criminal conduct have been itemized and included in a Memorandum by Krystyna Dailey. Additionally, certified records of such economic losses have been attached to the Memorandum, all of which is affixed hereto as Exhibit A.

As the Court will note from the documents, Fawn Clarkson (Lana's sister) suffered out-of-pocket expenses in the amount of $26,551.82. She was reimbursed by the Victim Compensation Board $9,740. The People therefore request a restitution order as follows:

1. Fawn Clarkson

i. Non-reimbursed funeral and burial expenses, and mental health expenses: $16,811.82

2. Victim compensation Board

i. Reimbursement for payments made: $9,740.00

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DATED: May 18, 2009

Respectfully Submitted

STEVE COOLEY
District Attorney of
Los Angeles county

By

(signature)

ALAN JACKSON
Deputy District Attorney