Legal Commentary

Friday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn

Prison officials won't let Phil Spector attend his civil trial against attorney Robert Shapiro. Spector wants a refund from the million dollar fee he paid Shapiro who represented him at the beginning of his criminal case and for the first year. Shapiro did manage to get him bond, but at issue is whether the fee was excessive.

He has battled Shapiro for years, contending the lawyer took advantage of him after he was arrested in 2003. Shapiro represented Spector for a year, securing his release on bail.

Shapiro's attorneys deny any wrongdoing and say the producer knew he was paying to have exclusive rights to the lawyer who also helped defend O.J. Simpson at his murder trial.

Shapiro says he turned down interview requests by Robert Blake and Scott Peterson to represent them in their murder trials because of his representation of Spector. He also says that Spector fully understood the fee agreement. The trial begins March 7.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 25, 2011 (boomark / email).