Spector Goes on Trial Accused of Murder ; WORLD

Mar 20, 03:01 AM

Current Headlines: By Andrew Gumbel

The curtain opened on California's latest piece of judicial theatre yesterday as Phil Spector, the legendary record producer and reclusive eccentric, appeared in court for the first day of his long- awaited trial for the murder of a B-list actress shot dead in his mansion.

Spector, sporting a new blond mop-top hairdo, looked on with interest as the arduous process of jury selection got underway in the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. He was accompanied by his latest wife, Rachelle Short, several bodyguards and a clutch of lawyers.

More than 300 prospective jurors were being screened and questioned yesterday and today pending a selection process that is expected to take more than a month. Opening arguments in the trial, which has been repeatedly postponed, are not scheduled until the end of April.

The proceedings nonetheless have all the makings of an OJ Simpson- style soap opera, not least because Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler has agreed to open up his courthouse to the television cameras.

Judge Fidler assured the first pool of potential jurors that their faces would not appear on screen. He has said in the past that he welcomes the cameras and intends to show the world that celebrities are treated just like anybody else under his jurisdiction.

Spector is accused of shooting Lana Clarkson in the foyer of his hill-top mansion four years ago after picking her up late at night at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, where she was working as a hostess. He had been out on the town with a friend, visiting several noted LA nightspots including Trader Vic's.

The prosecution contends that Spector flew into a murderous rage after she rebuffed his sexual advances. Spector himself has offered numerous versions of what happened on the night of 3 February, 2003, most recently contending that Clarkson committed suicide.

According to his driver, however, he came out of the house on the night of Clark-son's death and told him: "I think I killed someone." He later told police he had shot Clarkson by accident.

As the case has proceeded, Spector has remained free on $1m bail, sporadically startling courtrooms with his crazy hairdos and his outbursts - at one point he likened the district attorney to Hitler and said he was being stitched up.

The man who invented the Wall of Sound - working with the Beatles, the Ronettes and Tina Turner, among others - has, by his own acknowledgement, struggled with mental health issues and endured stormy relationships with several women. His ex-wife Ronnie said he would regularly threaten to kill her and kept a coffin in his basement reserved for her.

The prosecution hopes to call on four women other than Ronnie who claim Spector pulled a gun on them. Much of the case, meanwhile, is likely to hinge on forensics - who had residue on them.

A key piece of evidence, if it can be produced, is a piece of Clarkson's finger the prosecution says Spector blew off when he fired at her. It would demonstrate, at the very least, that she didn't wield the weapon herself.

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