LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – Phil Spector has placed an all-or-nothing bet on the outcome of his murder trial as lawyers today completed the last procedural steps before closing arguments begin next week.
Phil Spector has placed an all-or-nothing bet on the outcome of his murder trial as lawyers today completed the last procedural steps before closing arguments begin next week.
The defense and prosecution said that the jury should only consider a charge of second-degree murder rather than a lesser charge such as manslaughter. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler agreed, saying he couldn’t see any reconstruction of what happened in Spector’s Alhambra mansion that would allow a lesser charge.
The decision means that the jury can either convict or acquit the famed record producer on the top charge. Spector, 67, is charged with shooting Lana Clarkson, 40, in the mouth during the early hours of Feb. 3, 2003.
The prosecution has argued that Spector shot the actress after meeting her hours earlier at the House of Blues in West Hollywood where she was working as a hostess in the VIP area.
