August 14, 2008 17:26

Phil Spector lawyers request a stay in murder trial

They plan to appeal on double-jeopardy grounds

Phil Spector's lawyers have requested a stay in the producer's murder retrial so they can appeal the case on the grounds of double jeopardy.

The defence is attempting to ensure that Spector cannot be convicted of lesser charges of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter because Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ruled these charges did not apply and could not be argued to the jury in Spector's original trial last year.

Fidler has not yet ruled on whether he would allow the stay, but a pretrial hearing on the case is set for today (August 14), reports the Associated Press.

Spector -- the pioneer behind the 1960s Wall Of Sound technique -- is accused of murdering actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles mansion on February 3, 2003.

After five months of heated testimony last year, the jury reached a 10-2 deadlock in favour of convicting Spector, which resulted in the judge declaring a mistrial.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
[url="/about"] Find out more about NME.[/url]