Spector Defense off the Hook, for Now

Phil Spector's defense team can breathe a collective sigh of relief. 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler opted Tuesday to not issue sanctions against Spector's camp for allegedly mishandling evidence, although he concurred with the district attorney's office that the music producer's attorneys had improperly delayed the turning over of evidence and names of potential witnesses to prosecutors.  

But while Fidler ruled that the defense's sluggishness hadn't hurt the prosecution's case, he reserved the right to instruct the jury at the end of the trial to take the delays into account. 

"We'll hear witnesses, the people will get the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, and if it comes up as an issue, we'll deal with it," Fidler said. The judge also refused to block any defense witnesses from testifying, calling that "an extreme remedy." 

An evidentiary hearing was held last week into whether forensics expert and possible defense witness Henry Lee had, in February 2003, picked up a piece of acrylic fingernail from the alleged crime scene at Spector's Alhambra mansion, where Lana Clarkson was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. The prosecution is contending that the defense conveniently failed to turn over that bit of evidence, which could bolster the argument that a struggle took place before Clarkson's death. 

Spector is maintaining that the actress accidentally shot herself.  

A private investigator working for Spector's then-attorney Robert Shapiro was the one who alerted sheriff's investigators to the alleged existence of the gunshot-residue-spotted nail, mentioning it in passing to a friend at a summer barbecue the two attended in 2003.  

While Lee hasn't been able to testify yet, having been in China throughout the proceedings so far, Fidler ordered that he turn over all of his original notes and photo negatives taken at the scene. Prosecutors said that, to date, they've only received copies of Lee's materials. 

L.A. Sheriff's Department criminalist Lynne Herold testified Tuesday that traces of residue on the alleged piece of fingernail could have been caused by smokeless gun powder or gases emitted by the Colt Cobra .38 Special that killed Clarkson. 

The purportedly missing evidence could affect the case, Herold said, or, "it may have no value." 

Meanwhile, Lee said in 2004, when the prosecution first requested that this so-called nail fragment be turned over, that he never picked up any nail material. 

In its motion, the distric attorney's office also contended that there was a "lost box" full of notes and witness interviews from as early as 2004 that contained disparaging remarks about Clarkson and that the defense hadn't handed the materials over until way after the Feb. 16, 2007, discovery deadline. 

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson also objected to an appearance Lee made on Court TV right after the trial began, in which the former O.J. Simpson defense witness discussed his theories about the blood spatter found near Clarkson's body. 

"I was entitled to that well before he decided to plaster himself all over Court TV right after I finished my opening statement," Jackson said Tuesday.  

"We weren't trying to gain a tactical advantage. We did it inadvertently," defense attorney Christopher Plourd said, adding that Lee's theory was based on his general scientific knowledge, not on the exact parameters of the Spector case. Therefore, he had every right to chat up the Court TV pundits. 

"No experiment was done relative to the facts in this case," Plourd said. "Dr. Lee has written hundreds of articles on blood spatter." 

Testimony is expected to resume Wednesday. The jury had today off due to one member's scheduling conflict.  

Yesterday and earlier in the trial, the jury heard from two women who swore that Spector had previously threatened them with guns, making them fear for their lives.