Spector AG Response Brief Oct 10-1

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIASECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.PHILLIP SPECTOR,

Defendant and Appellant.Case No. B216425Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BA255233The Honorable Larry P. Fidler, Judge

RESPONDENT’S BRIEF

E

DMUND

G.

B

ROWN

J

R

.Attorney General of CaliforniaD

ANE

R.

G

ILLETTE

Chief Assistant Attorney GeneralP

AMELA

C.

H

AMANAKA

Senior Assistant Attorney GeneralL

AWRENCE

M.

D

ANIELS

Supervising Deputy Attorney GeneralState Bar No. 183901300 South Spring Street, Suite 1702Los Angeles, CA 90013Telephone: (213) 897-2288Fax: (213) 897-6496E-mail: DocketingLAAWT@doj.ca.gov

Attorneys for Respondent

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

iIntroduction .................................................................................................. 1Statement of the Case ................................................................................... 3Statement of Facts ........................................................................................ 3I. Prosecution’s case-in-chief .................................................... 3A. Appellant’s seven prior assaults with a firearmon five women ............................................................. 31. Dorothy Melvin ................................................ 32. Stephanie Jennings ........................................... 53. Devra Robitaille ............................................... 74. Dianne Ogden .................................................. 95. Melissa Grosvenor ......................................... 12B. The murder ................................................................ 141. Dining and drinking at the Grill withRommie Davis................................................ 142. Moving on to Trader Vic’s and DanTana’s with Kathy Sullivan ........................... 163. Meeting Lana Clarkson and dismissingKathy Sullivan at the House of Blues ............ 174. Urging Clarkson to have a drink at his“Castle” .......................................................... 215. At the Castle: “I think I killedsomebody” ..................................................... 22C. Appellant’s guilty conduct following themurder ....................................................................... 26D. The crime scene ......................................................... 30E. Evidentiary analysis .................................................. 321. The autopsy .................................................... 322. The orientation of Clarkson, appellant,and the gun ..................................................... 33F. Clarkson’s activities and plans prior to themurder ....................................................................... 34

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(continued)

Page

ii1. Work, taxes, modeling, autographs, andfriends ............................................................. 342. Preparing for an infomercial .......................... 36II. Defense evidence .................................................................. 37A. Challenge to the assault on Dorothy Melvin ............. 371. Distraught about appellant ............................. 372. Melvin’s police interviews ............................. 37B. Challenge to the assault on Stephanie Jennings ........ 38C. Challenge to Adriano De Souza’s testimony ............ 381. Inconsistency of De Souza’s account ............ 382. Eyewitness unreliability ................................. 39D. Challenge to the coroner’s finding of homicide........ 391. Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran ............... 392. Dr. Werner Spitz ............................................ 413. Dr. Vincent James Di Maio ........................... 414. Dr. Richard Seiden ......................................... 42E. Challenge to the blood spatter conclusions ............... 431. Stuart James ................................................... 432. James Pex ....................................................... 43F. Challenge to the collection of evidence at thecrime scene ................................................................ 44G. Challenge to Clarkson’s mental state ........................ 441. Cast as Marilyn Monroe in “BrentwoodBlondes” ......................................................... 442. E-mails referencing depression ...................... 453. Financial difficulties ...................................... 464. Making show business connections ............... 485. Falsely signing a letter ................................... 48