Phil Spector Hires New Lawyer, No Retrial for Months
It’s official: Music producer Phil Spector announced today that he has hired another lead lawyer. And, as a result, his retrial for allegedly murdering a former movie actress at his home will be delayed at least five months.
Doron Weinberg of San Francisco, who will now represent Spector, told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler that he will need at least four months to get up to speed on the case. So the judge set a May 22 status hearing, at which a trial date could be determined, according to the Los Angeles Times.
As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, Spector’s initial trial for second-degree murder in the death of Lana Clarkson ended in a hung jury. (The defense says the 40-year-old restaurant hostess shot herself, either accidentally or on purpose, in Spector’s home.) Even before his first trial had concluded, however, Spector was changing the batting lineup of his legal counsel and announcing that he and his former lead lawyer Bruce Cutler—who had taken an unusual hiatus during the trial to film a reality television show—were parting ways.
Weinberg, who had earlier appeared in court as Spector’s spokesman, is the latest in a series of attorneys, including Leslie Abramson and Robert Shapiro, to represent the rock music pioneer, the newspaper notes. Details of their comings and goings are discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.
