Britney Spears gave an explosive testimony earlier this week, addressing the court publicly for the first time in the nearly 13 years she has been under a conservatorship.
Spears, who was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship in 2008 with her father, Jamie Spears, appointed as her sole conservator, delivered a powerful and disturbing account that struck a chord.
In order to be released from the conservatorship, an attorney for Spears will have to file to terminate.
“My lawyer, Sam, been very scared for me to go forward,” Spears told the judge before stating that she would like the opportunity to select her own lawyer, rather than working with a court-appointed attorney.
I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them,” Spears said in court, appearing remotely.
Ingham has represented Spears since 2008 when her conservatorship began, following her public breakdown that played out in the press.
With the world standing behind Spears, pressure is mounting for the Princess of Pop to be released from her conservatorship.
Regardless, I think what really needs to be evaluated is how could they scale this back and give her as many rights as possible? Clearly, she is someone who can have that conversation and is able to handle a fair amount for herself, but if there is a problem like remembering to take medication or things of that nature, this can be done on a much smaller scale.
If you’re representing a conservatee, your job as a lawyer is to meet with that client and understand if they’re going to give testimony to the court.
It is something that a lawyer should be frequently talking to a client about because when you file annual well-being reports with the courts, before that is filed, having a conversation with the client to see what might need to be adjusted or changed and making sure they are getting the help they need is something that should have been a regular conversation.
But the questions that I would have for her attorney are, “Did you have a conversation with your client? Did you know in advance what she was coming to court to ask for? And if so, why wasn’t that paperwork filed with the court before that hearing?” Now, it is certainly possible that it’s not his fault that the paperwork hadn’t been filed.
If they contest it, it will basically be a trial where each side presents evidence to show why it’s needed or why it’s not needed.
If there is a termination petition filed and it is opposed, I think this will be a long drawn-out battle because over 13 years, there are a lot of witnesses that they would want to depose to use as evidence.
If her father does not agree and they go through with a full trial, if I were her lawyer, I would probably ask the judge for a temporary deviation from the conservatorship — something that gave her more rights, in the interim.
Yes — look at the attention it’s getting globally.
Her lawyer might have told her that she can’t say certain things because she would need to file and take a more proper course of action.
Yes, I think they should be.
If I was her lawyer, I would have already filed a request for the judge to do that and to modify the behaviors of the conservators.
Another likely scenario is that the court is so alarmed by what they heard that to ensure none of that happens while they investigate this, they could possibly remove him on a limited basis, while they undergo a further investigation.
If certain statements that she made proved that they did things in their own self interest to line their pockets versus hers, that’s an easier case to prove than some of the softer issues, which are really hard to prosecute on because they will say that they were trying to act in her best interest — for instance, it’s really hard to charge someone for saying, “You didn’t let her have a baby,” because there could be so many reasons that they could say they were trying to protect her.
I think what will probably happen is that her lawyer will have a conference with the judge, and if he decides that he’s going to resign because Britney is in favor of that, the judge could appoint a lawyer because of Britney’s heavy interest in wanting her own lawyer.
I would be surprised if they don’t go along with her choice, as long as the lawyer is a professional in this area — just because a lawyer isn’t on the court’s list of approved lawyers, that doesn’t mean you can’t get someone else.