US:A well-known US forensic expert who was the target of a withering attack by prosecutors, continued to insist that bloodstains on music mogul Phil Spector's jacket might support the defence in the murder trial.
Dr Michael Baden said on Wednesday he realised last Sunday, 4½ years after he attended actress Lana Clarkson's autopsy, that she might have lived long enough to cough blood on Spector. That conclusion supports the defence's suggestion that Clarkson shot herself. Spector, on trial over the death of Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion, has paid Dr Baden $90,000 so far, and the expert said he would bill a total of $120,000.
Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson pummelled the physician with questions about how he could have waited so long to come to the new conclusion - something Dr Baden has described as his "aha!" moment.
But the heaviest barrage came as Mr Jackson pushed Dr Baden to justify his involvement in the case. Dr Baden is married to Linda Kenney Baden, one of Spector's lawyers, and Mr Jackson suggested that their relationship compromised his objectivity. In justifying his fee, Dr Baden said, he consulted with lawyers many times and with his wife dozens of times. "And all this time you are supposed to maintain your objectivity and neutrality in this case?" Mr Jackson asked. Dr Baden denied that he had an interest in seeing his wife "succeed in this endeavour". "She is not my concern at all," Dr Baden said.
But Mr Jackson pressed. If Dr Baden came to conclusions contrary to the defence, "you'd probably be sleeping on the couch for several months, right?" The courtroom erupted in laughter.
Defence lawyer Roger Rosen objected. "Sustained. It calls for speculation," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler deadpanned, triggering more laughter.
Dr Baden provided critical testimony for the defence that could show Spector may have been too far away to have held the gun that killed Clarkson, based on the bloodstains on his jacket.
The defence contends the actress was depressed and killed herself.