Britney Spears may get an answer to her request to hire her own attorney Wednesday, a lingering question that could mark a major shift in how her 13-year conservatorship case has been handled.
A hearing Wednesday afternoon is expected to deal with the sudden departure of her court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, who has handled her case since 2008. Spears asked the court last month for the right to choose her own counsel, alleging that she was not made aware of her right to terminate the conservatorship and that she felt silenced by Ingham.
"My lawyer, Sam, has been very scared for me to go forward, because he's saying if I speak up, I'm being overworked. ... He told me I should keep it to myself," Spears said in court June 23. She said that even though she has built a relationship with Ingham, she would like "to actually handpick my own lawyer by myself."
Ingham filed his resignation with the court two weeks later, saying he would step down as soon as the court saw fit to replace him.
Spears made it clear last month that she wants to end her conservatorship and regain her independence, and getting a new attorney might be the first step. She has also asked for more power in her case in the meantime, wanting more say in her medical care and the freedom to complete her therapy from her home.
Her desire to have her own private attorney is supported by both her mother, Lynne Spears, and her conservator-of-the-person, Jodi Montgomery. A motion filed on behalf of Lynne Spears asked the court to allow her daughter to hire her own attorney, saying she is well enough to take care of herself.
"Now, and for the past many years, Conservatee is able to care for her person and in fact has, inside of the parameters of this conservatorship, earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity. ... Her capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008, and Conservatee should no longer be held to the 2008 standard, whereby she was found to 'not have the capacity to retain counsel,'" Lynne Spears' motion said.
Montgomery, who has been Spears' conservator-of-the-person since 2019, filed a separate support motion suggesting that the court compromise by assigning her a temporary guardian ad litem to help her select an attorney.
The motion said Montgomery "believes that a Guardian ad Litem for this limited purpose is the only way to both honor [Britney Spears'] wish to select counsel without a medical evaluation and protect her interests."
The filing also revealed that Montgomery has had multiple conversations with Spears about her request to retain her own attorney. It included screenshots of what appear to be redacted text messages between her and Spears, although the contact at the top of the messages is referred to as "Jane Doe."
"Getting you a new attorney, by filing with the court is the best legal approach," one of Montgomery's messages said. "Your dad has excellent attorneys. and you should too."
A message purported to be from Spears read: "I need u to stay as my co conservator of person. I'm asking u for ur assistance in getting a new attorney."
The American Civil Liberties Union requested the right to address the court Wednesday in an amicus brief filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Along with about two dozen mental health and disability rights organizations, the ACLU argued that the ability to hire her own counsel is Spears' constitutional right.
"Spears' right to select an attorney is not only a basic tenet of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, but also consistent with principles of personal autonomy and agency," said Zoë Brennan-Krohn, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Disability Rights Project. "The California Superior Court must recognize Spears' autonomy and the rights of people with disabilities to live independent, self-directed lives as active members of their communities."
Fans have latched on to Spears' case, starting a #FreeBritney campaign to end the conservatorship. Those who started the movement have expressed concerns that her father, James "Jamie" Spears, has abused what was meant to be a temporary arrangement for his personal gain.
Jamie Spears and his team have vehemently denied accusations that he has abused his position, repeatedly saying he only has his daughter's best interests at heart. He has been assigned as his daughter's conservator since 2008, shortly after she had a public breakdown. He was temporarily made the sole executor of her estate in 2019 after his co-conservator, Andrew Wallet, resigned.
A year after Wallet resigned, Ingham filed a petition on behalf of Britney Spears to have her father removed. Ingham said Spears was afraid of her father and would rather have a professional handle her case.
The judge denied the request but did assign a financial institution, Bessemer Trust, to be Jamie Spears' co-conservator. Spears was also assigned a conservator-of-the-person, Montgomery, who handles her nonfinancial needs.
Bessemer Trust filed its resignation with the court after Spears' testimony last month, saying it entered into the conservatorship under the impression that she wanted to be in it and has since learned otherwise.
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July 14, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Britney Spears wants to choose her own attorney; she may find out soon whether a judge will allow that - NBC News
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