Phil Spector’s Ex-lawyer Testifies

A former attorney for Phil Spector took the witness narrowly avoiding being held in contempt of court for  refusing to testify.

Sara Caplan testified that she saw forensic scientist, Henry Lee, pick up small white object that may have been one of Clarkson’s acrylic fingernails.

Caplan  agreed to testify after an appeals court upheld the ruling from the trial judge that she would go to jail unless she agreed to testify.

She said she saw Lee pick up an item about one inch in circumference and put it in a vial. She said she never saw the item again.

Lee has  denied the allegations.

D.C. Trembles as Judge Lifts Gag Order on Madam

You can almost hear the teeth chattering.

A federal judge in Washington is allowing “D.C. madam” Deborah Palfrey to release the names and phone numbers of her clients.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler vacated two previous orders that had forbid Palfrey from selling or distributing phone records for the escort service she founded in 1993, according to thesmokinggun.com.

Hillary’s Bro’ May Avoid Trial

A lawyer for the brother of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said he’s confident he can avoid a trial next week and settle a lawsuit that accuses Tony Rodham of failing to repay debts to a Tennessee carnival operator…

Grace Case Goes to Court

 

A judge ruled that a wrongful death suit against CNN’s Nancy Grace will move forward toward a federal court trial.

The lawsuit filed by Melinda Duckett’s relatives claims that Grace pushed Duckett, the mother of a missing toddler to suicide through aggressive questioning on her show.

Grace grilled Duckett on her CNN Headline News show in September 2006 about the disappearance of Duckett’s 2-year-old son, Trenton. Duckett fatally shot herself before the network aired the pre-taped interview.

The question is: Will Grace cover her own case?

Hollywood Movies Play Role in Marine Testimony

The names of a couple of movies have surfaced in the Article 32 hearings (the military version of a preliminary hearing) for the Marines accused in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.

The hearings will determine if any of the four officers and three enlisted Marines will go to court martial.

Marine Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt is accused in the deaths of three civilians. However, his defense asserts that he acted in self-defense when confronted with a man pointing an AK-47 at him.

During the hearing for Sharratt, a defense expert witness pointed out in testimony that Hollywood movies have distorted the public’s perception of death and dying.

“Hollywood too often deceives the public on what is an ability to fire or inflict death or grievous injury,” said Air Force Lt. Col. David Bolgiano.

Lt. Col. Bolgiano explained that people don’t fall to the ground and remain motionless after being shot, but rather it can take 20 to 40 minutes to bleed to death and the wounded individual is still a danger.

Lance Cpl. Sharratt also referenced a Hollywood film in his testimony. The Marine officer testified that before the battle in Fallouja in late 2004, a Marine recited one of the rousing speeches from Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” to help Marines find courage in the upcoming battle.

Gibson’s portrayal of William Wallace is best remembered for the last word he uttered: “Freedom!”

For the sake of that one word, if these brave young men are not exonerated, President Bush better have his pardon pen ready.

Paris Hilton’s Sheriff Baca Buddy?

Everything has political implications. Or so it seems.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca recently made a decision to release Paris Hilton from jail and place her under house arrest instead.

Hilton’s freedom from a prison cell, however, would be short-lived. The judge who first meted out her punishment would insure that she would return to a penal institution to serve her sentence.

Could it be that in making cushier arrangements for Hilton, Baca had an eye toward his next election?

It turns out that Paris’ billionaire grandfather had in the past coughed up some cash for Baca’s campaign.

Co-chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain, William Barron Hilton, gave the maximum allowed by law, $1,000, to Baca’s re-election campaign, according to financial records and Radar magazine.

“A member of her family has been a contributor to Baca’s campaign and this may have been payback time,” a friend of the Hilton family told the London Telegraph.

Imprisoned Paris has indicated that she will not appeal the order that placed her back in lockup.

“Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to think and I believe that I am learning and growing from this experience,” Paris said in a written statement issued by her lawyer, Richard Hutton.

In the meantime, some fellow celebs have commented on the incarcerated socialite’s plight.

“All heiresses should be put in prison on general principle,” actor John Cusack quipped.

Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson focused on the media’s role, stating that “the story is way bigger than what it needs to be.”

Hilton herself took a shot at the media, saying, “I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things like the men and women serving our country in Iraq and other places around the world.”

See Paris grow.

Censorship ‘changes face of net’

Amnesty International has warned that the internet “could change beyond all recognition” unless action is taken against the erosion of online freedoms.

Check out this report from the BBC

Charlie Sheen’s Career Death Wish?

Charlie Sheen wants the public to know that reports about him nixing the narration of a questionable 9/11 documentary are wrong.

The “Loose Change-Final Cut” film deals with the same ideas that Rosie O’Donnell has been pushing; the theory being that some of the buildings that collapsed on Sept. 11 were not brought down by aircraft but rather were destroyed by explosives, which were planted inside the structures.

“My views and convictions regarding the events of 9/11 have not wavered. I still firmly believe the citizens of this great country, especially the family members of those tragically lost, deserve a much more accurate and thorough investigation surrounding the horrific events,” Sheen said in a press release.

“The suspicious fact that certain relevant testimonies were not included in the Keen Commission’s final report, discredits the majority of their findings,” Sheen added.

Sheen advocates a “bi-partisan, democratically selected panel” to investigate the matter, “not some tepid rehash of Bush-serving lap-dogs cherry picking evidence to support erroneous and fictional ‘Magic Bullet’ explanations.”

“I’m baffled as well by the fact Bin Laden’s crimes listed on the FBI’s most wanted list DO NOT include those of 9/11,” the actor railed.

Evidently, Sheen is undecided about whether he’ll volunteer to be the poster boy for the “Loose Change-Final Cut” flick.

“I await the newest version to be presented to me, at which point I will make my decision to participate (or not) based on the film’s content and merit,” Sheen shared.

Governator Goes After Copyright Pirates

After having their arms twisted by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Canadian lawmakers cried “uncle” on new laws to terminate video pirates.

According to the Canadian Press wire service Schwarzenegger has beem lobbying Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the piracy mess.

Arnold is acting as a mercenary for Hollywood to stop the loss of profits due to pirates who tape movies in theaters.

But will legislation help in the age of the Web?

Microsoft’s Patent Pretense

Could big ole Microsoft be that afraid of Linux and open source?

Microsoft claims that Linux and other free and open source projects infringe 235 of its patents.

Although the Novell deal is being touted to support the idea that Microsoft has a legit claim, in 2004 the software giant paid Novell $536 mill for antitrust claims.

If you have the kind of patent claims Microsoft purports why would you pay out big bucks to an infringer?

This is a sign of the success of open source. The penguins are chortling.