x

Culture

Freedom from Court Could Be Imminent for Britney Spears

November 12, 2021

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears’ independence day may finally have arrived.

At a hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Friday, a judge will decide whether to terminate the conservatorship that has exercised vast control over the pop superstar’s life and money for nearly 14 years.

With no significant opposition from anyone involved, it appears likely Judge Brenda Penny will dissolve the legal arrangement. Britney Spears’ attorney, her parents, and the court appointees who control the conservatorship all publicly support termination.

Jodi Montgomery, the conservator who oversees the singer’s life and medical decisions, has developed a care plan with her therapists and doctors to guide her through the end of the conservatorship and its aftermath.

But Penny has not given overt signals to what she will decide, and she has considerable discretion and power. Legal or bureaucratic hurdles, or lingering concerns over Spears’ medical care or finances, could still slow down what might seem like the inevitable end.

It is not clear whether Spears, 39, will take part in the hearing. Fans who have demanded the court #FreeBritney, whom she has credited with bringing her to this point, will be outside the courthouse in significant numbers.

Penny sided decisively with Spears and her attorney Mathew Rosengart at the last hearing in September, when she suspended the singer’s father James Spears from the conservatorship that he had controlled at least in part since he first sought it in 2008.

The judge made no finding of wrongdoing against James Spears, saying only that the “toxic environment” made the move necessary.

“The current situation is untenable,” Penny said.

Prior to that hearing, James Spears reversed course and supported terminating the conservatorship. Rosengart argued that he should be suspended and have no role in the legal arrangement’s endgame. He has vowed to pursue an investigation of James Spears’ handling of the conservatorship even after it ends.

The attorney said he planned to take a “top-to-bottom look” at the actions of James Spears and his representatives and suggested that law enforcement should investigate revelations in a New York Times documentary about a listening device placed in his daughter’s bedroom.

James Spears’ attorneys said Rosengart’s allegations ranged from unsubstantiated to impossible, and that he only ever acted in his daughter’s best interest.

The post-conservatorship fight has in some ways already begun. James Spears has parted ways with the attorneys who helped him operate it, and has hired Alex Weingarten, a lawyer specializing in the kind of litigation that may be coming.

And in court filings last week, Britney Spears’ former business managers, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, pushed back against Rosengart’s demands for documents on its involvement in the conservatorship from 2008 to 2018. The group also denied any role in or knowledge of any surveillance of the singer.

As recently as six months ago, it appeared the conservatorship would continue indefinitely. It has since unraveled with surprising speed.

Key was a speech Britney Spears’ made at a June hearing, in which she passionately detailed restrictions and scrutiny of her life that she called “abusive.”

She demanded that the conservatorship end without any prying evaluation of her mental state.

Legal experts at the time said that was unlikely to happen, and would represent an aberration from common court practice.

Now it appears she may get exactly what she sought.

RELATED

NEW YORK – Fans of the Greek drama series Maestro in Blue, created by and starring Christopher Papakaliatis, will only have to wait until May 16 for the second season to launch on Netflix and Greek broadcaster Mega TV, Deadline reported.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

9 Are Facing Charges in What Police in Canada Say is the Biggest Gold Theft in the Country’s History

TORONTO (AP) — Police said nine people are facing charges in what authorities are calling the biggest gold theft in Canadian history from Toronto’s Pearson International airport a year ago.

NEW YORK – Fans of the Greek drama series Maestro in Blue, created by and starring Christopher Papakaliatis, will only have to wait until May 16 for the second season to launch on Netflix and Greek broadcaster Mega TV, Deadline reported.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) announced that Greek-American pop singer Angelina Alexon will perform live for Greek Night at the Hollywood Scene and Be Seen Bash, the LAGFF’s staple event scheduled for Thursday, June 6.

NEW YORK  — Two jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial were dismissed Thursday, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair following disclosure of details about her identity and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may have been inaccurate.

NEW YORK – Greek-American billionaire John Catsimatidis said that “his firm Red Apple Group is looking to make ‘green’ energy affordable by developing a new breed of small nuclear reactors — and the company has hired a seasoned energy executive to lead the effort,” the New York Post reported on April 17.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.