Rich and famous can avoid trial for years

By STEVE LOPEZ
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LOS ANGELES -- Let's say you were charged with murder in a death that occurred on Feb. 3, 2003. What are the chances you'd still be awaiting trial without having spent a day in custody?
Of course, I'm talking about Phil Spector, the rock 'n' roll legend accused of murdering actress Lana Clarkson. The story is so old, you might have forgotten the details.
On the night in question, Spector left his Alhambra manse -- built to resemble a French castle -- for a night on Los Angeles' Westside. His driver was behind the wheel of Spector's Mercedes S430 and ferried him to the Grill on the Alley, Trader Vic's and Dan Tana's. Later, at the House of Blues, Spector met the statuesque Clarkson, who reluctantly agreed to go to Spector's house for a drink.
They arrived about 3 a.m. Two hours later, the driver heard a pop, then saw Spector come outside with a revolver.
"I think I killed somebody," Spector told the driver, according to testimony before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury.
Spector first called the shooting an accident, according to police. Later he said she'd taken her own life. His defense lawyers have denied that Spector shot Clarkson and explained the discrepancy by saying he was suffering withdrawal symptoms from several prescription drugs.
At long last, it may finally be time to air it all out in court, with trial set for March 19. But why has Clarkson's family, which called Spector's contradictory stories "preposterous," had to wait so long for justice? Did Spector's wealth or his string of celebrity attorneys (Robert Shapiro, Leslie Abramson and Bruce Cutler) help keep him from facing the music, so to speak?
Not a night in jail
"We're at four years, and he's never spent one night in jail," said Edward Lozzi, a friend and former agent of Clarkson. "He's an accused murderer and he's gun crazy, and we're just hoping he doesn't shoot anybody else in the meantime."
The "gun crazy" comment was a reference to three women who told the grand jury that Spector separately had threatened each of them with a gun. As for Spector's slow march to trial, everyone I spoke to in the legal community said years-long delays are routine. But no one could recall the case of anyone who walked free so long while looking at a murder rap.
There's no denying the advantage of Spector's wealth. Booked initially on suspicion of murder, the "wall of sound" producer of the Ronettes and the Righteous Brothers posted 1-million bail and walked. (O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake both spent time in lockup, but that's because no bail is allowed in cases that potentially involve the death penalty, and Spector's case does not).
It didn't hurt that Spector could afford to hire and dump big-name attorneys, buying time for himself to pad around the castle while his new counselors got up to speed.
"I don't think it's fair for anyone to be pointing a finger at Phillip or the defense and say we caused the delays," said Roger Rosen, one of Spector's lawyers.
He admitted the change of attorneys has led to some delays, but also noted it took months before Spector was charged and another year before the grand jury indicted him. During that span, the original prosecutor became a judge and the schedules of the new prosecutor and the judge have been full.
Delays are the norm in complex, high-profile cases, said Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini. "It has been Judge [Larry P.] Fidler who has kept saying, 'Come on, guys, we need to get this case to trial.' "
More than four years after Clarkson's death, that's finally about to happen.
Barring further delays.
Lopez is a columnist for the Times.