Legal Commentary

After Six Months, Jury Deliberates Phil Spector Case

By Jeralyn

The jury is out in the Phil Spector murder trial. Six months of testimony, three days of closing arguments, with the prosecutor, as always, getting the last word (they get the last word because they have the burden of proof.)

This time around, the jury has the option of involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense, which carries up to four years.

The prosecutor apparently borrowed some Martha Moxley-style graphic tricks in his closing today, blowing up the photos of Lana Clarkson and five other women who claimed Spector waved a gun around them when drunk. He saved Clarkson's picture for last and yelled "Pow" when it appeared, simulating a gun going off. [More...]

This morning Jackson intoned the names of each of these women who had testified, followed by the words, "A woman, alcohol and loss of control -- Phillip Spector reaches for a gun. Click." After each of these clicks a photo of the woman appeared on a projection screen, so that the five formed the circle of a revolver's cylinder. The courtroom cringed when Jackson got to Lana Clarkson and repeated the formula for Spector's behavior. Instead of saying "click" he went "Pow!" and the release felt among some spectators was as though he had fired a gun.

Will it work with the jury? Or, will the fact that De Souza, the Brazilian chauffeur and the only witness to incriminate Spector, admitted lying four times on visa applications, render him non-credible in their eyes?

All of our coverage of the case since 2003 is assembled here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 26, 2009 (boomark / email).