There was another hearing sans-jury in the ongoing Phil Spector murder trial yesterday as lawyers for the prosecution and defence again clashed over what could be presented as evidence in the case. The latest evidence dispute centred on a diary kept by Lana Clarkson, the actress shot dead at Spector's Beverly Hills home back in 2003, and emails sent between her and a friend in the months before her death. Spector is accused of shooting Clarkson, albeit probably by mistake. But Spector claims that Clarkson shot herself, again possibly by mistake.
As previously reported, the prosecution have been keen to portray Spector as having a split personality in which he can quickly transform from a charming ladies man into a scary, gun wielding loon who, on occasion, would pull guns on women when they were alone in his house. It was one of those gun wielding incidents which, the prosecution argues, led to the death of Clarkson.
For their part, the defence are keen to portray Clarkson as unstable. They've not gone as far as saying she was suicidal (until now the implication has been she shot herself by accident), though they are getting closer to making that claim, which is where the diary and emails come in.
They claim there are word processed documents on Clarkson's old computer that are diary like (they are called 'The Story Of My Life'), and in which Clarkson talks about depression, a fascination with guns, and visions of a dead actress who shot herself because of a failing career. The emails talk of mounting money problems, with Clarkson commenting that she wanted to get her affairs in order and "chuck it".
Defence attorney Christopher Plourd told the court of Clarkson's written work: "She has delusions. She's seeing people who are deceased and talks to them. She talks about seeing a dead actress who comes to her in visions, a struggling actress who didn't make it and killed herself with a gun".
He asked coroner Louis Pena who, as previously reported, earlier this week said he believed that Clarkson's death was homicide and not suicide, whether he had examined the written documents and correspondence, and whether, if he had, he might have reached a different conclusion. Pena argued that it is not common practice to undertake a "psychological autopsy" of people killed in suspicious circumstances unless a family assumes suicide and requests one be done, which is why no detailed analysis of Clarkson's state of mind had been undertaken. An answer which, of course, possibly backs up the defence's claim that the authorities involved in this case have assumed Spector's guilt from the word go, and therefore not investigated the shooting from an unbiased viewpoint.
Prosecution lawyer Alan Jackson objected to the defence's use of the documents. Although he admitted he knew they existed, he argued they could not be authenticated, and that, because Clarkson had been taking creative writing classes, they could be have been written as semi-fiction. Such was the dispute over whether the written work could be counted as legitimate evidence, Judge Larry Paul Fidler dismissed the jury so both sides could state their cases as to why the diary and emails should or should not be presented to the jury. Responding to Jackson's objections, Plourd said: "I think you are arguing way too much. If you have the words of a deceased ... how do you keep that away from the jury and away from an expert who could have considered it". The consensus is that Fidler more than likely will allow the diary and emails to be properly presented in court as the case proceeds.
Elsewhere in Spector case news, famous forensics expert Henry Lee, who has been in the news in relation to this case even before he takes to the witness stand, has issued a statement claiming he has been slandered in the claims that have been made against him regarding his handling of evidence. This relates to the much previously reported fingernail claims. As previously reported, the prosecution claim that the defence found a bit of Clarkson's fingernail at the scene of the crime after the police completed their investigations, and concealed it because it might have suggested some kind of struggle before the shooting (suggesting Spector fired the gun as Clarkson tried to push him away). The defence deny any such evidence exists, but the prosecution's case was helped by former members of the defence team who claimed that a bit of fingernail had, indeed, been found, and that it was Lee who took it away.
Lee denies any such concealment of evidence, but Fidler, after hearing the evidence of those former defence team types, and especially Sara Caplan, said that he believed some concealing had gone on, though ruled he would not hold Lee as being in contempt. Responding to all the talk, Lee issued a statement on Wednesday again disputing the allegations, explaining that he only ever collected "two small bundles of white thread-like fibres imbedded in blood" and that he documented and photographed all his work in relation to the case, and saying that the claims being made against him are clearly a "slanderous attack" designed to "kill the messenger before the message is delivered". Lee's evidence is reportedly crucial to the defence's case, who have already said that it is forensic evidence which will enable them to win.
The case continues.