Former Spector Lawyer Held in Contempt

Phil Spector's trial judge apparently isn't one for empty threats.

Former defense team member Sara Caplan was held in contempt of court Monday for continuing to refuse to testify about forensics expert Henry Lee's actions at the scene of Lana Clarkson's death.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ordered Caplan to jail without bail but then stayed the sentence until 4 p.m. PT on Friday, pending the result of an immediate appeal.

"I must punish her summarily as required by law," said Fidler, who told the court last week he was sorry such a situation was before him.

"I can certainly admire her for taking this stand on principles, but there's a difference between admiring her and agreeing with her," the jurist continued. "The process of the court and the requirement of law insist that she testify."

Caplan, an experienced Beverly Hills criminal defense attorney, testified May 3 during an evidentiary hearing outside the presence of the jury that she saw Lee pick up a flat, white object with uneven edges in the hallway of Spector's Alhambra mansion on Feb. 4, 2003, the day after Clarkson was killed by a gunshot wound through the mouth.

Denying a law clerk's testimony that she herself picked something up, Caplan said that she pointed out the object to Lee, and that he picked it up and placed it in a vial.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has contended that Lee, whose testimony has been deemed crucial to the defense's theory that Clarkson shot herself, picked up a piece of the actress' acrylic fingernail and failed to turn it over to prosecutors.

Fidler concurred somewhat May 23, ruling that Lee had picked up something in Spector's foyer and didn't hand it over—although whether it was a fingernail, he couldn't say—thereby compromising evidence. Lee has denied the charge every step of the way.

Spector's defense team unsuccessfully asked the court for a mistrial last week, arguing that Fidler has handed down too many prejudicial rulings in this case.

Despite what Caplan said on the stand earlier, she refused to testify for the prosecution this time around, arguing that it would violate her attorney-client privilege.

Rejecting that argument from the get-go, Fidler ruled there was no such privilege when the issue being addressed was the mishandling of evidence.

Maintaining her position, Caplan refused today to answer any of Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson's questions about the Spector investigation.

"I have great respect for this court, for the Constitution of the United States and the State of California and the ethical obligations of attorneys in this state," Caplan said.

When Fidler directed her to answer, she said, "Respectfully, your honor, I cannot."

"As I said, although I can admire what she's doing and what she's going through, I cannot allow it," Fidler later said as he issued his ruling. "And I cannot find it to be an adequate explanation or basis for refusal to testify."

Caplan is due back in court Wednesday, where she'll be formally served with the notice of contempt.

Staking its own claim, Spector's team has now requested an evidentiary hearing to investigate what it's calling "outrageous" conduct by the prosecution, citing a blog posting by former defense investigator and potential witness Bll Pavelic, who called prosecutors "corrupt public servants who are deceptive at best and illegal at worst."

Pavelic also gave an interview to Court TV that traced a similar path.

"I'm not going to act on the basis of a television interview," Fidler said, adding that Pavelic would have to give a sworn deposition before any hearing on the matter is held.

More forensics-based testimony followed the procedural matters, with L.A. County Sheriff's Department criminalist James Carroll returning to the stand and testifying that the gun which killed Clarkson was definitely fired from inside her mouth, although he still couldn't say whose finger pulled the trigger.

L.A. County Coroner's Office criminalist Steven Dowell then testified that particles of gunshot residue were found on Clarkson's hands and tongue, followed by senior Sheriff's Department criminalist Christine Pinto, who said that two microscopic particles consistent with gunshot residue were found on Spector's hands.

During her cross-examination, defense lawyer Linda Kenney Baden suggested that particles on Spector's hands could have been picked up at the Alhambra police station when he was taken into custody.

If all goes according to schedule, the prosecution should be calling its 34th and final witness tomorrow, L.A. Sheriff's Department criminalist Lynne Herold. Her testimony is expected to last several days.