Spector Trial Delayed Again

Tue., Oct. 10, 2006 4:44 PM PDT by Josh Grossberg

This is beginning to sound like a broken record.

The trial in Phil Spector's long-playing murder case has been postponed yet again, getting bumped from January to March of next year. It's the fifth such delay in the past year.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler granted a request by attorneys for the legendary music producer who claimed they needed additional time to finish scientific and forensic tests. The start date will move from Jan. 16 to March 5, 2007, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office.

Spector, 66, remains free on $1 million bail. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder for the February 2003 shooting death of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson.

Spector was supposed to go to trial back in September 2005, but between legal wrangling on both sides and the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's habit of changing lawyers midstream, resulted in the start being pushed back until last Apr. 24.

That date was subsequently scuttled because the prosecutor had a conflict with another case. Fidler then targeted Sept. 11, but his own scheduling conflict forced yet another postponement to next January.

The March kickoff means another Spector case will likely be backburnered. The lawyers for Clarkson's family are expected to seek a delay in their wrongful death civil suit against the "Be My Baby" hitmaker until after the murder trial concludes so they can use evidence introduced in the criminal case in their own proceedings.

Spector, famed for his Wall of Sound recording technique, has claimed Clarkson committed suicide, saying the 40-year-old star of Barbarian Queen, "kissed the gun" in the early morning hours on Feb. 3.

Investigators, however, say they overheard Spector apologize for accidentally killing Clarkson. Prosecutors have also been given permission to introduce evidence of Spector's past misbehavior involving his firearms collection.

Considered by many a musical genius for his collaborations with the likes of the Ronettes, Righteous Brothers, Ramones and the Beatles, among others, Spector is facing a busy docket in the coming months.

Aside from the criminal and civil cases stemming from Clarkson's death, he was slapped with a $5 million sexual harassment lawsuit in March by a former personal assistant, Michelle Blaine. That complaint was in response to Spector 2005 suit against Blaine, claiming she embezzled thousands of dollars from him over the years.

In a related case in June, a Los Angeles judge threw out part of a suit filed against Blaine by Spector's accountant, David Neste, accusing her of fraud and mishandling funds.