Britney Spears wins right to choose own lawyer to end conservatorship
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A demonstrator holding a Britney Spears cardboard cutout during a #FreeBritney protest at the Los Angeles courthouse where the singer's conservatorship hearing is held.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES • American singer Britney Spears on Wednesday won the right to choose her own lawyer to help her end a 13-year-long conservatorship and tearfully pleaded for the court to oust her father immediately from the role of controlling her business affairs.
Her father, Mr Jamie Spears, has been a major figure in the conservatorship since he set it up in 2008 when his daughter had a mental health breakdown.
He is currently the sole person in charge of her US$60-million (S$81.2-million) estate.
"You're allowing my dad to ruin my life," Spears, 39, told the Los Angeles judge by phone.
"I have to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse," she added.
Speaking for about 10 minutes on Wednesday, Spears said she had always been "extremely scared of my dad".
She said she was fed up with multiple psychological evaluations in the last 13 years and wanted the conservatorship brought to an end without another one.
"I'm not a perfect person... but their goal is to make me feel like I'm crazy," Spears said.
Details of her mental health issues have never been publicly disclosed.
Last month, she called the legal arrangement "abusive" and "stupid" in a 20-minute public address.
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda Penny on Wednesday approved former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart to represent Spears going forward.
The singer's court-appointed attorney stepped down last week.
Mr Rosengart, who has previously represented Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Steven Spielberg, said his goal was to end the conservatorship.
"Does anybody really believe Mr Spears' continued involvement is in the best interest of Britney Spears?" Mr Rosengart said.
"If he loves his daughter, it is time to step aside."
Mr Rosengart's first job is likely to be filing a formal document asking for the conservatorship to be terminated.
Last month, Spears complained of being prevented from marrying or having more children, and said she was compelled to take medication against her will.
Mr Spears' attorney on Wednesday said that many of the singer's complaints were not valid.
"I'm not sure Ms Spears understands she can in fact make medical decisions and can have birth control devices implanted or not," attorney Vivian Thoreen said.
Ms Thoreen said Spears believes her father "is responsible for every bad thing that happened to her and that is the farthest from the truth".
The next hearing in the case was set for Sept 29.
REUTERS
