OMEN
08-28-2007, 09:41 PM
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44072000/jpg/_44072488_spector_ap203b.jpg
The closing arguments are due to start in September
The head lawyer in music producer Phil Spector's murder trial has agreed to stand down.
Bruce Cutler, who has often been absent from court to film a TV show, said there had been a "difference of opinion between Mr Spector and me on strategy".
"I said that he shouldn't do the closing argument," said Mr Spector. "With his television show, he wasn't here as much as he should have been."
The producer denies shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles home.
'Legal problems'
Mr Cutler, who opened the trial in April, has frequently been absent from court to fulfil filming commitments on US TV show Jury Duty, where he plays a judge.
Speaking outside the court room Mr Spector said: "I told him I thought it would be best to remove himself from the case and he agreed."
Addressing the court Mr Cutler said: "There's nothing I can do for Mr. Spector. I can no longer effectively represent him."
In late July, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler warned Spector he could face legal problems if Mr Cutler gave the closing argument.
"If you choose to have Mr Cutler argue this case and if there is a conviction, you give up the right to come back at a later time and say my attorney wasn't there," he said at the time.
Roger Rosen, a lawyer who has been at the helm of Mr Spector's defence effort, will take over from Mr Cutler.
Final arguments in the case are set for 5 September.
Ms Clarkson, a B-movie actress, died of a gunshot wound to the face after accompanying Mr Spector to his house in 2003.
The record producer's lawyers contend that she was depressed and took her own life.
Mr Spector, who pioneered the "Wall of Sound" recording technique in the 1960s, faces between 15 years and life in prison if convicted.
BBC
The closing arguments are due to start in September
The head lawyer in music producer Phil Spector's murder trial has agreed to stand down.
Bruce Cutler, who has often been absent from court to film a TV show, said there had been a "difference of opinion between Mr Spector and me on strategy".
"I said that he shouldn't do the closing argument," said Mr Spector. "With his television show, he wasn't here as much as he should have been."
The producer denies shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles home.
'Legal problems'
Mr Cutler, who opened the trial in April, has frequently been absent from court to fulfil filming commitments on US TV show Jury Duty, where he plays a judge.
Speaking outside the court room Mr Spector said: "I told him I thought it would be best to remove himself from the case and he agreed."
Addressing the court Mr Cutler said: "There's nothing I can do for Mr. Spector. I can no longer effectively represent him."
In late July, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler warned Spector he could face legal problems if Mr Cutler gave the closing argument.
"If you choose to have Mr Cutler argue this case and if there is a conviction, you give up the right to come back at a later time and say my attorney wasn't there," he said at the time.
Roger Rosen, a lawyer who has been at the helm of Mr Spector's defence effort, will take over from Mr Cutler.
Final arguments in the case are set for 5 September.
Ms Clarkson, a B-movie actress, died of a gunshot wound to the face after accompanying Mr Spector to his house in 2003.
The record producer's lawyers contend that she was depressed and took her own life.
Mr Spector, who pioneered the "Wall of Sound" recording technique in the 1960s, faces between 15 years and life in prison if convicted.
BBC