Monday, June 1, 2009

UK Sunday Express Online Says Phil Spector "Twittering" from Jail

Spector Twittering?
The UK Sunday Express posted an article yesterday claiming Phil Spector had an iPod and a laptop computer while incarcerated and was leaving comments on a "Twitter" account.

At 12:30 pm today, I spoke to the Watch Commander at the Twin Towers facility and asked him to verify the claim that Spector had an iPod and computer in his possession. His response was, "Absolutely not."

While the Twitter comments "may be" statements Phil Spector has shared with someone who has visited him or spoke to him on the phone at the jail, they are not being posted by him directly.

It's my understanding that Spector will be transferred into State custody at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation within the next two weeks.

Clarkson vs. Spector, Civil Case
On May 26th, the court granted a motion by Donna Clarkson's civil attorneys, John Taylor and Rod Lindblom to conduct a financial discovery of Spector's assets. The same day, a motion to stay the civil case was denied. I hope to have copies of those motions up later on the blog. It is my understanding that Doron Weinberg has filed a memorandum that Spector will plead the 5th in the civil matter pending an appeal in his criminal case.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy, just got back in from having a CT and bone scan (pesky PSA reading is high 4 yrs after prostate was removed, go figure). Your blog is the first place I hit when arriving back home.

It never occurred to me that a daily paper in the UK would print a complete fabrication like that. At the same time, I have read that it is very hard to sue for libel over there, so I guess they can have a field day with tall tales.

Good to hear that a "stay" on the civil case was denied. It will be interesting to find out the reason for that request, and who is representing him in the case....and how they expect to get paid.
Wes J.

Anakerie said...

The twitterers have got to be the dingy fans who have that lame "petition" going... I don't have a "twitter" account and don't plan on getting one, but I just spent a few minutes hopping back and forth between some of the people posting there and a lot of it seems to lead back to the "Nat" person that claims to be in England. **shrug**

I'm no expert, but it's ludicrous for anyone to believe that an inmate in the jail or in prison would be allowed to have an ipod or a laptop.

shari said...

Sprocket, does Phil HAVE to show up in court for the civil trial??? I know civil cases are far less strict. I just wondered if a lawyer could act without him being there.

Sprocket said...

He has not been there for all the pretrial motions but when it comes time for the actual trial, I don't known for certain.

I'm guessing that yes, he would have to be there for when the trial begins.

caroleigh said...

I find it amusing. Phil Spector vocal cord polyps.
Frequent removal.

Listen up penal system, the best thing that could happen to Phil Spector would be leave the damn polyps alone, high chance they will become carcinogenic.

Imagine, just imagine Phil Spector dying of throat cancer after the way he tore Lanas throat apart. Is that poetic justice or what.

Take that freak to San Quentin,,, general population.

love ya Sprocket keep us posted.............
Caroleigh in Mississippi

Anonymous said...

Some of those "twitter quotes" are taken right from Tearing Down the Wall of Sound, which I just read. The rest is crud anybody can make up. Must have been a slow news day in England.

Anonymous said...

He is going to plead the 5th in the civil trial I bet because he doesn't want to admit he did anything wrong

Katprint said...

What normally happens with regard to civil cases being "stayed" while the criminal case goes forward, is that the civil case goes forward once the verdict in the criminal case has been rendered. The verdict in the criminal case is presumed to be valid as a matter of law until such time as it is vacated by a Court of Appeal. Unsurprisingly, civil procedure is intended to deal with what happens the vast majority of the time, not the rare exception. It can take decades for appeals to be decided as they work their way up through the various state and federal appellate and supreme courts, and it is quite rare for criminal verdicts to be vacated. If the civil cases remained stayed during the criminal appeal then in the vast majority of cases, the victims/victims' heirs would merely be re-victimized and deprived of their day in court.

Bottom line: Almost all courts follow the same procedure i.e. stay the civil case during the criminal trial, then lift the stay once a verdict has been rendered in the criminal case and let the civil case go forward.

Anonymous said...

Although their loved one is lost forever, and she is irreplacable, I think Lana's legacy at the very least should be that the large part of the fortunes of PS go to her heirs and whatever is left should go to his abused sons and daughter, with a pittance going to the young stepmother. I doubt it will all work out that way, but at the very least I hope that most of the fortune go to the Clarkson family.

Anonymous said...

But Doron Weinberg surely isn't representing Spector in the civil case. Wouldn't that be up to the civil lawyer to file something about pleading the fifth?

CaliGirl9 said...

I’d imagine ol Harv’s going to plead the Fifth in the civil trial because the burden of proof standard is far less in the civil case.

Even if you can’t/don’t want to put the gun in Spector’s hands and say he alone pulled the trigger, one can certainly make the argument that it’s not real smart to have an unregistered loaded weapon sitting in a drawer near a home’s entrance. That’s enough irresponsibility right there to place blame … and as the wonderful jury foreman from trial #1 reminded us about his snoopy mother-in-law, well, people do look through things they really shouldn’t when visiting someone else’s residence. Isn’t that the reason he gave for believing that Lana found the gun and decided to kill herself right there and then?

The Twitter/laptop thing is laughable, as is the idea he’s got his iPod with him. Inmates aren’t allowed power cords (potential weapons or methods of suicide) unless they earn the privilege of having a radio or television, and those are sent in from the manufacturer in a sealed box, not brought in by family or the inmate, and each is still searched before being handed over to the inmate.

However, there are correctional officers who could and would do something as unethical as “post” in Spector’s name and with his approval … I don’t believe corrections employees have to stash their personal cell phones while at work.

Anonymous said...

Correctional employees in the state of PA are NOT alllowed to carry cell phones into the facility. They are left in the officer's vehicle which is locked at all times. Violation of both items is strictly enforced....the cell phones and unlocked vehicles.

Anonymous said...

Trust me, PS is not Twittering from jail. This is urban folklore traveling around the internet, the parody media, and the tabloids. It was started as a joke by someone pretending to be PS.

PS, the real twit, is not on his laptop making jokes about himself at his own expense.

Unknown said...

Over on the "SDentencing" comments, one of the "Anonymous" posters busted me for repeating the UK rag's assertions about Phillip's Twitter posts and his laptop. I should've known better. The California system has very strict limits on personal electronics, although prisoners in low-level security facilities in general population can have TVs and radios. Internet access is completely prohibited, and I doubt that there are many, if any, laptops in prisoner hands.

The "Celebrity Cells" in downtown LA might be somewhat more lenient, but I agree that the Twitter/laptop story about Spector was a complete fabrication, and I was silly to give it any blog space. Mea culpa, friends.

Anonymous said...

Moments ago, the person who created the Twitter account just posted it was a joke.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing that the media bought in to this. How naive can you be?! I believe it for a second too! lol

Anonymous said...

Proves to you his fans are a few shy of a happy meal at all times. What a fool who is speaking for Charles Manson as well. I hope twitter bans them for good.

Anonymous said...

The account has been deleted....