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Judge throws out Spector defense’s motion to dismiss murder charges

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Times Staff Writer

Phil Spector’s defense failed Tuesday in a bid to reduce or dismiss murder charges against the legendary music producer.

After the prosecution rested its case, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler rejected a defense motion to throw out the murder charge against Spector, who is accused of shooting to death actress Lana Clarkson on Feb. 3, 2003. Fidler also denied a defense request to reduce the charge to manslaughter.

Fidler said there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to the jury for a verdict.

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The defense contended that there was no evidence of “implied malice” to support a murder charge.

Prosecutor Alan Jackson countered that California law dictates that pointing a loaded gun at a person and firing the gun is an act of implied malice, even if the weapon discharges accidentally. Clarkson, 40, was shot through the mouth in the foyer of Spector’s Alhambra mansion, where she had accompanied the producer after meeting him during her hostess shift at the House of Blues nightclub.

The prosecution had completed the bulk of its case in June, but reserved the right to call some final witnesses as the defense launched its case, which is now in its fourth week.

peter.hong@latimes.com

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