Phil Spector Guilty of Second- Degree murder

Monday, April 13, after a trial that lasted almost 6 months and after nearly 30 hours of deliberations, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury convicted Phil Spector, an eccentric music producer of the 60's for the second degree- murder of actress Lana Clarkson. The jury also found Spector guilty of using a fire arm to commit the crime. For video coverage of the verdict and some clips of the pressor after as well as some slide shows click here. I decided to include this video from the link but recommend checking out the rest at that link.







Second-degree murder carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. The use-of-a-gun enhancement adds three, four or 10 years in prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
This isn’t the first time that Phil Spector has faced a jury on these charges. The first jury deadlocked 10-2, favoring conviction in 2007.

Phil Spector’s claim to fame has not only been as the inventor of the “Wall Of Sound” recording technique, but also as the producer of teen anthems and working with a number of recording artists from The Crystals to the Righteous Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner to the Beatles.
Spector’s first claim to fame was “To Know Him Is to Love Him" a song written by Phil Spector and recorded by his first band, the Teddy Bears, that went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1958. The chorus of the song is “To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him. And I do, yes I do.”

After Spector’s most recent claim to fame, being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a film actress at his mansion six years ago and this conviction on that charge, we might rewrite that chorus to read…To know, know, know him is to convict, convict, convict him. And we did, yes we did.

The jury heard from prosecutors that Spector had a history of threatening women with guns when they tried to leave his presence. As in the first trial, they presented testimony from five women who told of being threatened by a drunken Spector, even held hostage in his home, with a gun pointed at them and threats of death if they tried to leave.

The defense in both trials tried to portray Lana Clarkson as an aging, depressed, has been, who used Spector’s gun to kill her self.

The 40-year-old Lana Clarkson, star of the 1985 cult film “Barbarian Queen,” died of a gunshot fired in her mouth as she sat in the foyer of Spector’s mansion in 2003.

The jury also learned that Spector, 69, who had long lived in seclusion at his suburban Alhambra “castle,” was out on the town in Hollywood when he met Clarkson on Feb. 3, 2003, at the House of Blues.

The tall, blond actress, who had recently turned 40 and was unable to find acting work after breaking both her wrists in a fall at Christmas 2001, had recently taken a job as a hostess in the VIP room of the House of Blues with hopes of making some connections. When the club closed in the wee hours, she accepted a chauffeured ride to Spector’s home for a drink. Three hours later, she was dead.

Spector’s chauffeur, said he heard a gunshot, then saw Spector emerge holding a gun and heard him say: “I think I killed somebody.” IMO that was the most damning testimony of this trial, a confession of sorts or in legal terms an "excited utterance".

Defense attorney Doron Weinberg said he believed the case was swayed by the judge’s erroneous rulings, particularly one that allowed the five women from Spector’s past to testify. He said it would be the basis for appeal and a request for a new trial.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said Monday that “justice ... was unserved up until today. Today is when the Clarkson family gets their justice.”

The jury forewoman, who refused to be identified, cried as she described how the panel made its choice. “It just is a painful decision,” she said. When asked if there was any one thing that stood out for the jury in favor of conviction she said, “ There was no one thing , we looked at all of the evidence, and based our decision on the totality of the evidence.”

Katfishponders can't help but add a chorus here, To know, know, know him is to convict, convict, convict him. And they did, yes they did.

Spector who has been out on a $1 Million cash bond since February 3, 2003 was remanded to custody until his sentencing on May 29.

For in depth coverage of this case visit Sprocket’s Trials and Tribulations blog. Sprocket attended most of the first trial and blogged about the case. When it turned out that there was very little media interest in the second trial, Sprocket attended everyday of the trial and delivered great play by play coverage of the trial. Thank You Sprocket!

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Justice Delayed Isn't Always Justice Denied

Most of us have heard the adage "Justice delayed is justice denied". According to Wikipedia it is a legal cliche meaning that if legal redress is available for a party that has suffered some injury, but is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, it is effectively the same as having no redress at all. This principle is the basis for the right to a speedy trial and similar rights which are meant to expedite the legal system, because it is unfair for the injured party to have to sustain the injury with little hope for resolution. This seems to apply to the civil side of the legal system and to the defendants side of the criminal system.

After looking back at a few of the trials from 2008 I think we can change that adage to "Justice delayed isn't always justice denied". As a matter of fact that could be the theme for 2 of the trials that come to mind, I will get to them in a bit. My hope is that it will also be the theme for the Phil Spector retrial that began this fall and should wrap up in the next month or so.

Phil Spector, an eccentric music producer of the 60's, is charged with killing actress Lana Clarkson on Feb.3, 2003. The prosecution contends that Spector, who has a history of pulling guns during alcohol fueled rages, repeated that behavior in the wee hours of that Feb.3 in a rage that ended in the death of Lana Clarkson by an intra oral gunshot wound. That's right folks they say he stuck the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

Spector's lawyer at the time, Robert Shapiro (think OJ Simpson dream team and legalzoom.com), was able to get Spector released the same day on a million dollar cash bond. Phil Spector has yet to spend one night in jail. Spector was also able to postpone going to trial until 2007 by changing his defense team several times. For the victims of a crime or their survivors, when the accused decides to wave the right to a speedy trial, justice delayed can be misery...

When Spector did finally go to trial many say he was able to "buy" himself a hung jury by assembling his own "dream team" of forensic experts and 5 attorneys. The first trial, that lasted over 5 months, didn't buy Spector the acquittal he had hoped for, although the hung jury (10-2 in favor of guilty) did "buy" him another year of freedom.

For the retrial Spector has pared down his "dream team" to 1 lawyer. Whether he has a forensic "dream team" remains to be seen, the defense should begin presenting their case soon. Using the same defense theory as his first trial, Spector contends that Lana Clarkson in a moment of despair committed suicide. Whatever Phil! How that explains why Phil walked outside with the gun in his hand after the shot was fired and told his chauffeur "I think I killed somebody", I don't know. The defense claims the chauffeur is mistaken, but that is pretty lame, really. As I said in the beginning of this post, hopefully "Justice delayed isn't always justice denied".

OJ Simpson's robbery trial in Las Vegas was easily the most notorious trial of 2008. Whether deserving or not Simpson's case was definately given the most media coverage of any trial in 2008. Despite a valiant effort by his attorneys, Simpson was convicted on all counts and is expected to spend up to 33 years in prison. The verdict in this case came down 13 years to the day after OJ was acquitted for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. For many, this conviction atones for the denial of justice many felt when OJ was acquitted 13 years before. Once again "Justice delayed isn't always justice denied".

For me, the trial of 2008 that was the most interesting and appalling didn't include any famous names or tons of money, but best exemplifies the adage "Justice delayed isn't always justice denied" is the Mark Jensen murder trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Jensen's trial didn't start until the first week of January 2008, even though Mark's wife was found dead on December 3, 1998. The case had dragged on since Julie Jensen, 40, after having fallen ill and taken to bed, was found dead in her Pleasant Prairie, WI home. Mark Jensen wasn't charged until 2002 and legal wrangling over evidence delayed the trial another 6 years.

Several weeks before her death, Julie Jensen talked to local police, her son's school teacher and a neighbor, and told them that she suspected her husband was planning to kill her. She went so far as to give her neighbor a sealed letter that detailed her suspicions, and asked her neighbor to give the letter to the police if anything happened to her.

Prosecutors allege Mark Jensen fed Julie Jensen several doses of ethylene glycol--the sweet, syrupy but poisonous liquid commonly used in antifreeze--and then smothered her when she started to recover from the poisoning.

In his defense Mark Jensen argued that his wife was depressed and angry because he was having an affair, so she did Internet searches on poisoning in an effort to frame him, then committed suicide by poisoning herself.

At trial, prosecutors wanted to use Julie Jensen's statements to speak as a "voice from the grave" in an effort to prove that Mark Jensen had murdered his wife, but first they had to convince the courts to allow such evidence.

Using such evidence in court has for years been blocked by strict hearsay rules giving criminal defendants the right to confront their accusers. The Wisconsin Supreme Court created new rules, prompted by a US Supreme Court decision and this case, that laid the ground work for her accusatory letter and statements to police to be used as evidence in the trial.

On February 21, 2008, after a six week trial, Mark Jensen was convicted of murder, first degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory sentence for lifetime imprisonment under Wisconsin law.

Because of all the interesting twists and turns of this case, that I haven't even touched on here, I will take a more in depth look at this case in another post.


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KTLA Showing a Short Clip of Opening Statements In Spector Retrial

The retrial of Phil Spector started a month ago, but you certainly wouldn't know it based on news reports or lack thereof. I won't go into a rant about that, instead I'll focus on what is out there this week.

As I have mentioned before, Sprocket at Trials and Tribulations has been attending the retrial and blogging about her experiences there. She mentioned in her entry for yesterday, December 1, (day 11 of testimony) that Harriet Ryan of the LA times had attended court for a bit in the afternoon session.

Ms. Ryan did an interesting piece on the trial. I found her article here on ktla.com. More on her article in a bit, what really caught my eye was a less than 2 minute clip from opening statements on the same page as Ms. Ryan's article. Sprocket reported early on there was a pool camera in court for opening statements but this is the first I have seen of them.
I WANT MORE! Alan Jackson is so riveting and I would love to see Truc Do (prosecution co-council) in action as well. Will we get the opening statements in 2 minute increments? I wish I knew, of course I'll report if I find it anywhere. Please let me know if any of you find something as well. OK?

Back to Harriet Ryan's article, while she attended court yesterday and posted the article yesterday, it had nothing about yesterday's testimony in it. The article focuses on Spector's defense strategy this time around. Rather than try to portray Spector as a gracious and generous eccentric as the defense did in round one, Doran Weinberg paints a much different picture of Spector. Weinberg goes so far as to describe Spector as a gun-obsessed boor with a mouth filthier than a truck stop restroom and mood swings as sharp and scary as a dagger. Whew!
The point of this is to show that Spector pulls guns on everyone, not just women. The approach, his lawyer says, is the only way to combat what the defense considers the most damning evidence against Spector in the fatal 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson: the testimony of five women who say he terrorized them with guns under similar circumstances. Whatever.

IMO, The testimony of Adriano De Souza (Spector’s alternate driver on February 2nd, 2003) is the most damning as it is pretty much a confession of sorts. I think the legal term is an "Excited Utterance". De Souza's testimony ended yesterday. My impression from Sprocket's report is that De Souza held up pretty well even though Weinberg did his best to discredit him. We'll have to wait and see how this jury perceives it all. There is still a long way to go and at the rate it's going this trial will probably last as long as round one.

One last thought I wanted to share. Beth Karas of InSession (CTV) has attended the trial a few days in an unofficial capacity. Beth did call in a report to Jamie Floyd of Best Defense and I thought it interesting she reported Dr. Michael Baden won't be back for this trial. Do you think his reputation couldn't withstand another "aha" moment or does Phil just not have enough money this time around? Probably both! Sphere: Related Content

KTLA will provide limited coverage of Phil Spector's re-trial

UPDATE 3:
November 11

I have noticed a lot of hits looking for coverage of Phil Spector round 2, first let me say welcome to katfish ponders, and second....I don't have any good news. There is no live or taped coverage. I can tell you what I have been doing to get my Spector "fix" so far.

Trials and Tribulations carries Sprocket's " in the courtroom " coverage and that is my first go to place. I then head over to Juror Thirteen, they have some interesting insights about the case based on Sprocket's coverage and other press, such as Linda Duetch of AP. One thing I really like about Juror Thirteen is they are good at supplying links to other relevant stories that are out there. Another place that has some interesting insight to Phil Spector is mControl blogs. This blog is by Michelle Blaine, assistant for Spector on Febuary 3, 2003. I didn't mention this earlier because it had been some time since she posted there.....but she's back! Very funny lady! MB also created the People vs Spector V2 website. Right now there isn't a lot of action on the forum there, but it is well worth checking out...as the trial progresses there will be more to talk about. There are some knowledgeable and funny posters on there!
Once again if I find any other coverage is out there I will post it. Heck, I'd like to know who has the tapes from opening statements....it must be top-secret...noone is fessing up to it. LOL! Please let me know if there are any other places out there discussing this trial.
katfish
UPDATE 2:
October 27
Sprocket has posted another update! She reports the agency that inquired about the web cam has pulled out. There will be a pool camera covering opening statements, although it's not clear who will be carrying it. For more detail check out Trial and Tribulations. I will update when I hear anything! Jeesh!
UPDATE:
October 27, 2008
I bumped the date up on this post so it will be near the top of the page.
Sprocket, from Trials and Tribulations has been attending the voir dire of the jurors for Phil Spector's re-trial.
In her report this evening about the last day of voir dire, Sprocket reports that Judge Fidler said that the court has received a last minute request to have a "web cam" in the court. There apparently would not be a computer [camera] operator, but that wasn't clear. He does not know the particulars of the request so he can't rule on the request at this time. The details are currently being worked out with Allan Parachini.
There will be a still camera for opening statements. This is apparently a camera on a tripod in the gallery of the court and not mounted on the walls. This would just be for opening statements.
The media organization that made the "web cam" request was not named, nor was the organization that will film opening statements.
Opening statements begin Wednesday.
I'll let you know when I hear anything. Trials and Tribulations is the go-to blog for anything Spector 2. Thanks for the heads up Sprocket!

October 21, 2008
Recently there have been rumblings that KTLA has decided not to cover PS 2.
I have hesitated to report these rumblings here until there was definite confirmation . Unfortunately, While I haven't been able to get actual confirmation from KTLA, I have heard from a reliable source that they have backed out.
If I get confirmation or better yet, good news, I will post it here ASAP.

When word came that no media outlets had applied for access to cover the re-trial of Phil Spector many of us were shocked. Just a year or so ago, the first Phil Spector murder trial was fairly "big news". CourtTV (now InSession) carried all 6 months of the trial.

There was also a strong Internet following, with gavel to gavel live streaming available through several sources. I personally switched to Internet coverage when CTV started cutting off the trial midway through the day (programming changes at the network... grrrr). When just watching by yourself was too frustrating or if you missed a day and needed to catch up, there were plenty of places online to go and discuss the trial, and MANY people did.


In the first trial, Spector, the eccentric music producer who created the famous "Wall of Sound" recording technique, avoided conviction after a six-month trial that ended with a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of finding him guilty. Given that result, regardless of our opinion as to guilt or innocence, many of us who had devoted so much of our time to this quest for justice, took solace in the notion that there would be another trial and again we would be there.....had we been told then that just one year later the re-trial would be viewed as old news....I am certain more would have been done to encourage the media to cover the re-trial.

The 68-year-old music producer is charged with murder for the Feb. 3, 2003, shooting death of 40-year-old Lana Clarkson. Spector and his attorneys have maintained that Clarkson committed suicide in the foyer of Spector's home. (After the first trial, the state said that Spector murdered Lana Clarkson and his defense murdered her character.)

The re-trial got under way with Jury Selection on October 2 and 3 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Three hundred prospective jurors were to report over these two days to weed out those who had personal reasons for not participating and to give questionnaires to prospective jurors to fill out in order to gauge their knowledge of the case and determine whether they have formed any opinions. They are to return October 20 for voie dire (questioning by the attorneys). This trial is expected to take 3 to 4 months.

Sprocket and Donchais, at Trials and Tribulations have been working behind the scenes to facilitate some type of coverage and have reported that Judge Fidler approved local channel KTLA's "TV" application and The Associated Press's "still photographer" application. KTLA requested, "opening statements, portions of testimony, closing arguments, verdict, and sentencing. For whatever reason that the media isn't as interested this time around, some coverage will be better than none. Let's just get this show on the road! There is also a petition that was started on September 18. It's probably too late for the petition to do any good at this point, but it certainly wouldn't hurt anything to add your name if you feel the Spector re-trial deserves more coverage.


At this point KTLA will be the only place to go for coverage, however, trial discussion can be had at many places. Here are the places on the web that I intend to go during this trial:

For" in the courtroom reports " go to Sprockets blog at Trials and Tribulations
For great trial discussion there will be several places to go....
of course the KTLA message boards will be a great spot. You can also find some great discussion at jurorthirteen,they have message boards and chat! And last but not least, there is a forum that was developed specifically to cover the re-trial of Spector. It is called People v Spector V2. This site was developed by a former assistant of Spector and will offer not just message boards and chat but possibly some "insider" insight to Phil Spector. Normally I would include TruTV/InSession message boards but since they chose not to cover this trial, I choose not to go there for this trial. If anyone knows of any other sites that would be of interest let me know and I'll add them.



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