Phil Spector...guilty of 2nd degree murder! Wall of sound crumbles...

From the sidelines, everyone held their collective breath on Friday afternoon, when the jury for the Phil Spector trial (No. 2) took a break for the weekend deadlocked over issues that cried out for a just verdict.

Last year, I followed the trial intensely, and penned a post on some of the more curious aspects of the proceedings (and evidence) which raised a spectre of doubt in the courtroom.

Post: 08/29/09

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/08/phil-spectorwhodunit.html

Mr. Spector is known for creating the infamous "Wall of Sound" that was (in part, anyway) responsible for the phenomenal success of a handful of megastar pop singers over the past few decades (the Beatles among them).

Because of Spector's known bizarre social behavior - and a penchant for mixing alcohol and gun play - all accusing fingers were inclined to point to the legendary music producer as the potential murderer at the trial.

But, the slippery devil - not unlike the teflon Don - managed to escape the wrath of the victim's friends and business associates - who adamantly cried foul - when the eccentric multi-millionaire was acquitted first-time around the legal circuit.

And so, a second trial commenced, forthwith.

In a standing-room only courtroom yesterday, the jurors found Spector guilty of 2nd degree murder, six years after police first stumbled upon the bloody body of a statuesque blond actress by the name of Lana Clarkson.

At a news conference, the Jury forewoman asserted that it was the "totality" of the evidence that prosecutors presented over the past five months in the courtroom that cinched it for the panel of dedicated Jurors.

No one piece of evidence singled out any smoking gun theory apparently.

On the heels of the verdict, legal eagles speculated that Phil Spector faces a mandatory life prison term when he appears for sentencing on May 29th, 2009.

The defendant won't be eligible for parole until he has served at least 18 years of the term, provided he has maintained a low profile in jail (i.e., there are no altercations with fellow inmates or trips to the infamous "hole" for misconduct) and remained on good behaviour during the duration of his stint in the pokey.

On the radio airwaves this morning, a handful of disc jockeys speculated that Spector would not make it out alive if he's tossed into the penal system with the general population.

According to one radio personality, an author who wrote a bio on the defendant, was inclined to take the position that without the trappings of his wealth - a mansion outfitted with high security, wine and song at his beck 'n call, friends and confidants to protect him from the indignities that common folk experience on a day-to-day basis - Spector won't survive in close quarters with hardened felons.

The District Attorney's office is apparently celebrating the outcome of the long egregious trial.

According to sources, Spector is the first high-profile celebrity to be convicted in over forty years in the Los Angeles courts.

Attorneys in the DA's office (who prefer to remain nameless) grudgingly confessed that spotlighted defeats in the murder trials of O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake still stung.

"Celebrity cases are always a little different," grimaced District Attorney Steve Cooly.

In the past, Cooly has blatantly insulted jurors, who appeared to have been too starry-eyed to see the forest for the trees.

After Jurors acquitted Robert Blake in 2005, for instance, he demeaned them by alleging they were incredibly stupid.

In the final analysis, he summed it all up this way.

"Sometimes the laws of gravity as we know them don't work in celebrity cases."

Shortly after the verdict was read, and the hub-bub died down a bit, Spector's attorney noted that he would lodge an appeal.

The Judge's decision to allow women to testify about events over a three decade period was ripe for an Appellate court review, asserted lawyer Doron Weinberg.

"We believe that analytically there is absolutely no legal basis for the admissibility of that evidence."

Spector's attorneys asked that the defendant be permitted to remain free on $1 million dollar bail pending the imposition of his sentence in May.

However, prosecutors objected on the grounds that the Alhambra resident had a history of threatening people with guns and that there may be an incentive to flee the jurisdiction to avoid incarceration.

In response, Judge Larry Paul Fidler issued a note for the record.

"Public safety and public protection are paramount."

The victim's mother and sister declined comment when reporters clamoured for a quote.

What else was there to say?

Justice was served in my estimation.

Spector the musical wall-of-sound whiz kid

http://www.julianayrs.com

O.J. Simpson...guilty! Las Vegas jury convicts...

Just before 11 p.m. last night, the verdict was read by the Jury foreman.

"Guilty!"

A panel of nine women and three men deliberated more than thirteen hours before rendering their decision.

Mr. Simpson, and his accomplice - Clarence Stewart - were convicted on twelve counts stemming from a much-publicized armed robbery and kidnapping incident which took place last year in Las Vegas (NV).

After the verdict was read, the Heisman Trophy winner was cuffed by a deputy and led away to await sentencing.

Although there were three weeks of testimony to sift over, insiders say it was a handful of secret audio recordings, that probably turned the screws on O. J. Simpson and his partner in crime, Clarence Stewart.

The tapes were damning, for sure.

The defense attorney's argument that the altercation - which took place in a hotel room in the gambling mecca in the desert oasis - was simply a botched attempt to recover memorabilia stolen from Mr. Simpson just didn't fly.

"You may all say he didn't use common sense. But the real issue is whether he had criminal intent to commit a crime," attorney Yale Galanter argued in closing statements.

The prosecutors, on the other hand, managed to convince the jury that the armed robbery was masterminded by Simpson who called upon five disreputable ruffians to carry out his nefarious plan.

The state established in the eyes of the jury that Simpson and his cohorts robbed the victims at gunpoint after they were tricked into thinking they were going to savor a windfall sale with a wealthy collector.

Chris Owens, the State prosecutor on the case, convincingly argued that "they thought they could spin it" because - after all - it was Simpson's stuff anyway.

The jury found differently.

O. J. maintained he never saw any guns during the shake-down - in spite of the fact witnesses testified at trial that they packed two revolvers that day - a .45 caliber Ruger and a .22 caliber Beretta - at Simpson's request.

But, it was probably a twenty-six minute encounter which was slyly taped after the ballsy robbery, that probably did the former NFL player in.

One of the gunman met with Simpson at a local restaurant after the robbery and was questioned as to whether he "pulled out the piece" in the hotel hallway.

Simpson was anxiety-stricken over the possibility that the overt act may have been captured on the Hotel's security cameras for future referenc.

Clearly, Simpson was trying to determine if there was any evidence on tape establishing the brandishing of guns, so he could tailor his defense accordingly.

During the course of the trial, friends and business associates turned against Simpson to protect their own hides.

In return for becoming state witnesses, four of the accused were permitted to plead guilty on lesser charges.

The counts of armed robbery and kidnapping against Simpson and Stewart carry potential life sentences.


I goofed!