No New Judge For Spector Trial
It doesn't look like Phil Spector will be getting a new judge. E! Online says the California Supreme Court decided last week to also bypass the legendary producer's request to have Judge Larry Fidler taken off his case. The state supreme court's rejection follows an appellate court decision against conducting a hearing in the matter. Defense attorney Doron Weinberg reportedly wanted a new judge, claiming that during the first trial Fidler showed a bias against Spector in the way he instructed the jury. But judge who first fielded the request ruled that Weinberg didn't offer adequate evidence that Fidler was biased, and added that the lawyer had waited too long to file the motion. Spector's retrial is scheduled to begin on September 29th.
Spector is facing a murder charge in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson. He claims she killed herself, but he's been accused of firing the fatal shot. His first trial ended in a mistrial after jury members announced that they couldn't reach a unanimous decision. After seven days of deliberation the jurors said they were deadlocked, and without indicating whether the majority was for or against a conviction revealed they were split seven-to-five. But instead of dismissing the panel Judge Fidler gave jurors additional instructions. The mistrial was declared after the jury was deadlocked for a second time, following four more days of deliberations. However, this time the jury was split ten-to-two in favor of conviction. |