Britney Spears Wins Court Battle to Hire Her Own Lawyer
2021-07-17
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1Pop music star Britney Spears won court permission Wednesday to employ a lawyer of her choosing to represent her interests.
2The decision came in a court hearing in Los Angeles, California.
3Spears is under the care of a legal guardian agreement known, in the state of California, as a conservatorship. In some states, it is called a guardianship.
4A court can appoint conservators for people judged to be too unwell to care for themselves.
5The health problems can be mental or physical.
6Conservators have wide power to make financial and other decisions for the person they care for.
7Britney Spears was placed in a conservatorship in 2008 with her father Jamie Spears as head.
8For most of the years since, few details of the situation were made public.
9But recently Spears began seeking changes to the conservatorship, including the removal her father as its leader.
10On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny ruled that Spears could hire former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart.
11After the decision, Rosengart called on Spears' father to immediately resign as her conservator.
12"The question remains, why is he involved," Rosengart said outside the courthouse.
13Britney Spears took part in the hearing by phone.
14She told the judge she had had several talks with Rosengart and wanted his representation. She then spoke directly to the court.
15"My dad needs to be removed today," she said.
16Spears added that she would like to see him legally charged with abuse of his position.
17She cried as she spoke about the conservatorship, which she described as cruel.
18The pop star spoke so fast that at times it was difficult for the court reporter to record her statement.
19Spears said she wanted the conservatorship to end immediately, but not if it would force her to undergo more medical evaluations.
20She described the tests as "stupid."
21She added that she did not want to provide the chance for, in her words, "people to question my intelligence for the millionth time."
22Spears said the conservatorship would deny her requests for things as basic as coffee, her driver's document and hair care products.
23She 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.
24She began to cry as she talked about taking comfort in a therapy dog when she felt her family had left her.
25Vivian Thoreen is the lawyer for Jamie Spears.
26Thoreen told the court that Jamie Spears would not resign from his position as conservator.
27She said Jamie Spears had always put his daughter's best interests first.
28Thoreen said Britney Spears had many incorrect beliefs.
29One of those beliefs was that "her father is responsible for all the bad things that have happened to her."
30Thoreen also said that for almost two years Spears has had control only over his daughter's money.
31The lawyer said Jamie Spears surrendered control over the singer's life choices to a court-appointed professional, Jodi Montgomery.
32Thoreen argued that an evidentiary hearing was necessary to investigate the claims that Britney Spears made at another hearing held in June.
33Spears told that court she was being forced to take medications and use an invasive birth control device.
34Thoreen said she found it strange that Britney Spears would make such claims and yet approve of Montgomery as a guardian.
35Montgomery's lawyer, Lauriann Wright, also spoke to the court.
36She said Britney Spears should not have to face additional court examination connected to her recent, emotional testimony.
37"I don't think it's a secret that we're dealing with someone with mental illness," Wright said.
38Wright also said Britney Spears' medical team had strongly advised that her father "needs to be off the conservatorship."
39Supporters of the movement #FreeBritney waited outside the courthouse during the hearing.
40They cheered when told of the judge's decision.
41When Rosengart walked out of the building, they cheered again.
42In court, he questioned whether the conservatorship should ever have been established.
43"This is not working," Rosengart said. "We know that."
44Judge Penny said the court would hold another hearing in late September.
45She expressed hope that the opposing sides will find common ground for Britney Spears' good.
46"Everybody should be working collaboratively," the judge said.
47"It's not about anybody else, it's about her."
48I'm Caty Weaver.
49And I'm Jill Robbins.
1Pop music star Britney Spears won court permission Wednesday to employ a lawyer of her choosing to represent her interests. 2The decision came in a court hearing in Los Angeles, California. 3Spears is under the care of a legal guardian agreement known, in the state of California, as a conservatorship. In some states, it is called a guardianship. 4A 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. 5Britney 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. 6On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny ruled that Spears could hire former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart. After the decision, Rosengart called on Spears' father to immediately resign as her conservator. 7"The question remains, why is he involved," Rosengart said outside the courthouse. 8Britney 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 spoke directly to the court. 9"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. 10The pop star spoke so fast that at times it was difficult for the court reporter to record her statement. 11Spears said she wanted the conservatorship to end immediately, but not if it would force her to undergo more medical evaluations. 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." 12Spears said the conservatorship would deny her requests for things as basic as coffee, her driver's document and hair care products. 13She 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. 14She began to cry as she talked about taking comfort in a therapy dog when she felt her family had left her. 15Vivian 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. 16Thoreen 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." 17Thoreen 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. 18Thoreen 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. 19Thoreen said she found it strange that Britney Spears would make such claims and yet approve of Montgomery as a guardian. 20Montgomery'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 testimony. 21"I don't think it's a secret that we're dealing with someone with mental illness," Wright said. 22Wright also said Britney Spears' medical team had strongly advised that her father "needs to be off the conservatorship." 23Supporters 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. 24In court, he questioned whether the conservatorship should ever have been established. 25"This is not working," Rosengart said. "We know that." 26Judge 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. 27"Everybody should be working collaboratively," the judge said. "It's not about anybody else, it's about her." 28I'm Caty Weaver. 29And I'm Jill Robbins. 30The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 31___________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33hire -v. employ; to give a job to someone 34prosecutor -n. a lawyer who accuses a defendant of a crime in a court of law 35evaluation -n. to judge the value or condition of someone in a careful and thoughtful way 36comfort -n. a state of feeling less worried or upset after a time of trouble or pain 37therapy -n. the treatment of physical or mental sickness 38testimony -n. something that a person says in a court of law often while promising to tell the truth 39collaboratively -adv. involving two or more people or groups working together toward a goal; cooperation