US:Jury selection for the music producer's court case has started, writes Patricia Danaherin Los Angeles
The trial opens in Los Angeles today of legendary pop music producer Phil Spector (66), who is accused of the murder of an actress at his home in California four years ago. The man described as the "tycoon of teen" by writer Tom Wolfe and who produced hit after hit in the 1960s and 1970s with songs such as River Deep, Mountain High, Imagine and You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' has been a reclusive and eccentric figure for many years, with a reputation for drunken gunplay.
The death of 40-year-old Lana Clarkson occurred five hours after she had met Spector for the first time at the House of Blues venue in LA on February 3rd, 2003. Spector had been drinking at several celebrity venues in LA that night before he arrived at the House of Blues. She agreed to go back to his house for one drink and, five hours later, she was found slumped in a chair in his hallway, dead from a single gunshot to the mouth. Spector's driver, Adriano De Souza, who was waiting outside for her, heard the gunshot and has told police Spector came out of the house and said "I think I killed somebody".
When the police arrived, Spector repeated the remark and police fired Taser darts at him from a stun-gun when he refused to co-operate with them.
His defence now claims Clarkson committed suicide that night in his house, as her career was on the wane. The medical examiner in the case told a grand jury that his findings could support either homicide or suicide. But the coroner concluded the death was a homicide based on "history, circumstances, law enforcement police reports and autopsy".
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Spector also hinted that the two were involved in some kind of sex game, saying Clarkson "kissed the gun".
Interest in the trial is expected to be on a similar scale to that of the OJ Simpson trial and the judge hearing the case, Larry Paul Fidler, has decided to allow cameras into the courtroom to show the trial live on television. He said it was "time the courts got over their fear of cameras".
Spector's legal team is headed by Bruce Cutler, a longtime lawyer for New York Mafia boss John Gotti. Cutler is a colourful figure known for his courtroom theatrics. Spector has already hired and fired two separate legal teams, including Robert Shapiro who defended OJ Simpson. He is suing Shapiro for the return of a $1 million (€750,000) retainer. He was also briefly represented by the team which defended the Menendez brothers, before it too was fired.
The prosecution team is headed by Patrick Dixon, the head of the district attorney's major crimes unit. The prosecution is expected to argue that Spector is a man with a history of rage against women, that he met the attractive Lana Clarkson while she was working and persuaded her to come home with him and, when she later rejected his sexual advances, he shot her.
Both teams have jury consultants and the selection process for the jury begins this morning. It is thought this process could go on for several weeks as both teams will be questioning potential jurors and attempting to fashion a jury most favourable to their case.
Many artists who worked with Spector in the 1960s and 1970s tell stories of the presence and sometimes the use of guns in the recording studio. Spector held a gun to the back of Leonard Cohen's head during the recording of Death of a Ladies' Man saying "I love you, man", to which Cohen coolly replied, "I hope you do, Phil."
Shots were fired in the studio during the recording of John Lennon's Rock n Roll album. The Ramones said he held them in studio at gunpoint for eight hours, forcing them to play the same song over and over until he was happy with it.
On the night of his arrest, police found 10 other guns and ammunition throughout the house. Four women who claim Spector threatened them with guns in separate incidents will give evidence during the trial.
Spector lives in a 24-room castle in Alhambra, about 30 minutes from the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, with his new bride, a 26-year-old model he married last September.
The pop wizard who invented the "Wall of Sound" has been out on bail of $1 million since February 2003, a source of great bitterness to the Clarkson family, who are also pursuing Spector with a civil action for wrongful death.
Three hundred potential jurors will be called to Los Angeles Superior Court today. Those who are not eliminated will be given questionnaires to fill out and the legal teams on both sides will have a month to consider the answers, before questioning them again in person.
A pre-trial hearing is to take place on April 9th and it's now believed the opening statements won't be made until April 30th.
The trial is scheduled to run for three months.