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Britney Spears Wins Court Battle to Hire Her Own Lawyer

Pop music star Britney Spears won court permission Wednesday to employ a lawyer of her choosing to represent her interests.

The decision came in a court hearing in Los Angeles, California.

Spears is under the care of a legal guardian¹ agreement known, in the state of California, as a conservatorship. In some states, it is called a guardianship².

A court can appoint conservators for people judged to be too unwell to care for themselves. The health problems can be mental or physical. Conservators have wide power to make financial and other decisions for the person they care for.

Britney Spears was placed in a conservatorship in 2008 with her father Jamie Spears as head. For most of the years since, few details of the situation were made public. But recently Spears began seeking changes to the conservatorship, including the removal her father as its leader.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny ruled that Spears could hire former federal prosecutor³ Mathew Rosengart. After the decision, Rosengart called on Spears' father to immediately resign as her conservator.

"The question remains⁴, why is he involved," Rosengart said outside the courthouse.

Britney Spears took part in the hearing by phone. She told the judge she had had several talks with Rosengart and wanted his representation. She then spoke⁵ directly to the court.

"My dad needs to be removed today," she said. Spears added that she would like to see him legally charged with abuse of his position. She cried as she spoke about the conservatorship, which she described as cruel.

The pop star spoke so fast that at times it was difficult for the court reporter to record her statement.

Spears said she wanted the conservatorship to end immediately, but not if it would force her to undergo more medical evaluations⁷. She described the tests as "stupid." She added that she did not want to provide the chance for, in her words, "people to question my intelligence for the millionth time."

Spears said the conservatorship would deny her requests for things as basic as coffee, her driver's document and hair care products.

She said, "I thought they were trying to kill me" in the early years of the conservatorship as she was being overworked and examined all the time.

She began to cry as she talked about taking comfort in a therapy dog when she felt her family had left her.

Vivian Thoreen is the lawyer for Jamie Spears. Thoreen told the court that Jamie Spears would not resign from his position as conservator. She said Jamie Spears had always put his daughter's best interests first.

Thoreen said Britney Spears had many incorrect beliefs. One of those beliefs was that "her father is responsible for all the bad things that have happened to her."

Thoreen also said that for almost two years Spears has had control only over his daughter's money. The lawyer said Jamie Spears surrendered control over the singer's life choices to a court-appointed professional, Jodi Montgomery.

Thoreen argued that an evidentiary hearing was necessary to investigate the claims that Britney Spears made at another hearing held in June. Spears told that court she was being forced to take medications and use an invasive birth control device.

Thoreen said she found it strange that Britney Spears would make such claims and yet approve of Montgomery as a guardian.

Montgomery's lawyer, Lauriann Wright, also spoke to the court. She said Britney Spears should not have to face additional court examination connected to her recent, emotional testimony⁸.

"I don't think it's a secret that we're dealing⁹ with someone with mental illness," Wright said.

Wright also said Britney Spears' medical team had strongly advised that her father "needs to be off the conservatorship."

Supporters of the movement #FreeBritney waited outside the courthouse during the hearing. They cheered when told of the judge's decision. When Rosengart walked out of the building, they cheered again.

In court, he questioned whether the conservatorship should ever have been established.

"This is not working," Rosengart said. "We know that."

Judge Penny said the court would hold another hearing in late September. She expressed hope that the opposing sides will find common ground for Britney Spears' good.

"Everybody should be working collaboratively," the judge said. "It's not about anybody else, it's about her."

Words in This Story

hire –v. employ; to give a job to someone

prosecutor –n. a lawyer who accuses a defendant¹⁰ of a crime in a court of law

evaluation⁶ –n. to judge the value or condition of someone in a careful and thoughtful way

comfort –n. a state of feeling less worried or upset after a time of trouble or pain

therapy –n. the treatment of physical or mental sickness

testimony –n. something that a person says in a court of law often while promising¹¹ to tell the truth

collaboratively –adv. involving two or more people or groups working together toward a goal; cooperation

1 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

2 guardianship   

n. 监护, 保护, 守护

参考例句：

• They had to employ the English language in face of the jealous guardianship of Britain. 他们不得不在英国疑忌重重的监护下使用英文。
• You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria. 你要马丽恩放弃她的法定监护人资格，把霍诺丽娅交给你。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

7 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

8 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。