Well, it seems Judge Larry Fidler has gone off Sara Caplan, the former member of Phil Spector's defence team who the judge described as being "completely credible" when she gave evidence regarding the allegations that Dr Henry Lee removed a bit of tooth from the crime scene. Now he's threatening to hold her in contempt of his court.
As previously reported, Caplan, no longer a member of Spector's defence team, was one of those called to court last month when the prosecution accused the defence of finding and concealing what could be key evidence after the police had left the crime scene. Caplan told a court session sans-jury that she had seen Lee, as a forensics expert called in by the defence, put a piece of tooth found on the floor of the room where actress Lana Clarkson was shot into a vial. Lee denies finding any such evidence, but after the court session to consider the prosecution's claims, Fidler ruled Caplan was the only legal type giving testimony who he believed to be "completely credible".
However, Caplan has now said that she is unable to give a more detailed testimony of what she found at Spector's Beverly Hills home when she visited it shortly after Clarkson's death because what she saw that day was covered by lawyer/client confidentiality rules. However, Fidler says he disagrees with that claim and that he'll hold Caplan in contempt if she now refuses to take to the witness stand in front of the jury. Commenting on Caplan's obligations, he said yesterday: "My sense of justice is not only to Mr Spector... but also to Miss Clarkson and to justice herself. She went to a scene and said she saw [someone] manipulate, conceal or destroy evidence. There is no privilege not to testify".
The long running Spector murder trial, in which the legendary producer stands accused of killing Clarkson, continued to concern itself with the crime scene yesterday. Detective Mark Lillienfeld, who on Tuesday described the scene police officers found when they were called to Spector's mansion after Clarkson's death, yesterday told the court that the minute he saw Clarkson's body he thought that she had been killed, adding that he felt the death had "sexual overtones". Spector, of course, claims Clarkson killed herself that night back in February 2003 - maybe by accident, maybe because of suicidal tendencies.
The trial continues.