Spector murder trial a 'wall of coverage'

By Stone Martindale Apr 25, 2007, 17:26 GMT

Music producer Phil Spector REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Opening Statements are underway in the latest Hollywood spectacle since OJ and Robert Blake's trials.  Phil Spector, who created the infamous wall of sound that defined the girl groups of the 60's such as the Ronettes, and who gave music lovers a legacy of distinct recordings featuring his production style, is in the trial and moment of his life now.

Four years of legal maneuverings and delays but now the trial of music producer Phil Spector is underway in Los Angeles, Spector is accused of murdering a 40-year-old actress, Lana Clarkson, by gunfire in his Alhambra mansion.

Spector denies he was involved and claims she committed suicide.

The Los Angeles Times previously reported that a nine-man, three-woman jury of mixed professionals and blue collar workers - one a reality television producer - was sworn in last week to hear the evidence, and six alternates -- four men and two women -- were sworn in yesterday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler instructed the jurors they will remain anonymous throughout the proceedings and that they would not be on camera, despite the fact the trial will have full TV coverage.

Spector was charged in November 2003 with murder and was indicted by a Los Angeles County grand jury on the same charge in September 2004 according to the Los Angeles Times.

According to various media sources, Clarkson was working as a hostess at the House of Blues nightclub in West Hollywood when she met Spector.

FOX News reports that Spector's own chaffeur has testified that once the two were back at Spector's home, he "heard something", then saw Spector emerge with a revolver in his hand and say, "I think I killed somebody."

Spector's attorneys include Bruce Cutler. Cutler was famous for representing mafia kingpin John Gotti.

Cutler contends that police "violated Spector's constitutional rights, denied him needed prescription medication and continued to try to question him after he asked for his then-attorney, Robert Shapiro" according to FOX News.

Prosecutors have a rogues gallery of past girlfriends and women to testify in the trial that Spector "pointed guns at them in the past."

Defense attorney Roger J. Rosen has called this potential testimony "a major hurdle."

"This kind of evidence is very salacious and seductive and gets the jury thinking about other things than the evidence," he said to FOX News.

Famous forensic pathologists, Dr. Henry Lee and Dr. Michael Baden of HBO "Autopsy" fame who were veterans of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, will work for the defense.

Fidler ruled he will allow a television camera in court so the trial can be televised by Court TV. .

Clarkson was an actress who starred in many television shows and Roger Corman films, and had supporting roles in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Scarface."