Jury selection to begin in Spector murder trial

Four years after an actress was shot dead in the foyer of his castle-like home, jury selection begins today in the case of US music producer Phil Spector.

Spector was charged with murder after Lana Clarkson was found with a gunshot wound to the face on February 3, 2003. He has pleaded not guilty.

Spector, who created the “wall of sound” that revolutionised the recording of rock music, faces a prospective jury pool of 300 people when the first phase of his trial gets under way.

Although Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler has ordered that the trial be televised, cameras will not be present for jury selection.

Fidler ordered the potential jurors to appear in court today and tomorrow. Most have already been pre-screened by a jury commissioner who excused those with obvious hardships that would prevent them from serving on a trial expected to last three months.

Some of those remaining are expected to claim financial hardships posed by such a long trial and ask that they also be released.

Those who survive the two-day session will be given questionnaires that will ask what they know about the highly publicised case and seek to discover whether they hold hidden prejudices that would deny Spector a fair trial.

After tomorrow’s session, lawyers will take a one-month break, interrupted only by a pre-trial hearing on April 9 to read the prospective jurors’ answers and hone their jury selection strategy.

On April 16, the remaining prospects will return for “voir dire”, the process in which they are questioned individually by lawyers and the judge. Lawyers will then use challenges to reduce the pool and choose the ultimate jury and alternates.

A jury is expected to be seated by April 30, when opening statements are scheduled to begin and cameras will roll.

Spector’s appearance may rivet TV audiences. His theatrical attire usually includes 3-inch boots, frock coats and outlandish wigs. His New York lawyer, Bruce Cutler, is also known for flamboyant speeches in court.

Jurors will be asked to unravel conflicting evidence about what happened before police found Clarkson, 40, slumped dead in a chair in the foyer of Spector’s mansion from a gunshot to the mouth.

The coroner’s office called it a homicide – “death by the hand of another” - but also noted that Clarkson had gunshot residue on both of her hands and may have pulled the trigger.

In an email to friends, Spector, 66, called the death “an accidental suicide”. He has been free on $1m (€750,000) bail since his arrest. Spector, who lives in a mansion resembling a castle that is nestled into the hills above the sleepy Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra, faces life in prison if convicted.

Mr Cutler said his defence will be simple: “He didn’t shoot this woman.”

Prosecutors will claim he placed the gun in her mouth and shot her.

There will be extensive forensic testimony.

Legal experts say that while Spector is a legend in the music business, the celebrity factor on this trial is likely to be minimal because only older members of the public are aware of his impact on pop music in the 1960s.