Phil Spector: Defense rests in murder retrial

On Thursday the defense attorney of Phil Spector rested his case on the music producer's murder retrial that involved the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.

Larry Paul Fidler, the Superior Court Judge has given the advice to Spector regarding his right to testify. However he chose not to take the stand in his own defense.

Attorney Doron Weinberg concluded with testimony from forensic psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, who is an expert in memory and witness testimony. Her opinions were presented to cast doubt on the star witness of the prosecution, a chauffeur who admitted that he heard Spector saying that he was thinking of killing somebody.

Spector has been charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of Clarkson, who became a 1980s cult figure through her starring role in the film titled "Barbarian Queen."

Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, and author of 22 books on human memory, witness testimony and repressed memory, told jurors that witness observations can be influenced by stress, lighting and time. She also mentioned that the accuracy depends on whether distractions divert the attention of person or not.

"Memory does not work like a videotape recorder." She made the comment after taking note of the fact that individuals sometimes change their descriptions accidentally because of the information they receive after the event.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Alan Jackson suggested that Loftus was "to a certain degree, a professional defense witness." She agreed that she has rarely been asked to testify by prosecutors.

She also acknowledged that witnesses who were confident of their accounts "are slightly more likely to be right than those who aren't."

The chauffeur was quite confident in his observations when he is being testified.

After the defense rested, prosecutors began their denial case. The judge told jurors that testimony in the trial would end sometime during next week. The retrial recessed till Monday.