Britney Spears was granted the ability to choose her own counsel on Wednesday. Samuel D. Ingham’s resignation was formally accepted by the judge and former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart will replace him.
What We Know:
- Last month Judge Brenda Penny said she could not make a ruling to end Spears’ conservatorship until she filed a formal petition to terminate the arrangement. Spears requested the ability to select her own counsel to proceed and after that was granted, the singer took to Instagram to celebrate. She posted a video of herself doing cartwheels and thanked her fans in the caption, utilizing the #FreeBritney hashtag for the first time since it originated. Fans had gathered both outside of the LA courthouse and in Washington D.C.
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- During Wednesday’s hearing, Ingham interrupted the court because Spears was texting him and wished to address the court. Over the phone, Spears reiterated some of her previous testimony and vocalized her desire to charge her father with “conservatorship abuse”. She described how her hair vitamins and coffee had been taken away from her, and went on to state, “Ma’am, that’s not abuse, that’s just f***ing cruelty.” She had previously testified in last months hearing that she had desired to marry her boyfriend and have children but was unable to due to the conservatorship. Spears also was barred from removing a contraceptive intrauterine device (IUD) in order to get pregnant.
- The singer’s conservatorship began when Jamie Spears, her father, petitioned the court for legal authority over her life in 2008 due to mental health concerns. Since then, he stepped down from being in charge of her personal affairs in September of 2019 and Jodi Montgomery took over. He remains in charge of her $60 million estate after Besemer Trust, the brief co-conservator, pulled out following last month’s hearing. Conservatorship abuse involves financially exploiting or imposing excessive personal restrictions on the individual in the conservator’s care. If found guilty, the conservator can be removed and may face financial penalties.
- Spears does not want to submit a medical assessment and would be happy if Jodi Montgomery remained to manage her personal affairs. She told the court, “I would like to charge my father with conservatorship abuse.” Outside of the courthouse, Rosengart called on her father to voluntarily step down. He said, “Jamie Spears should be removed as conservator because it is in [the] best interest of the conservatee…The question remains, why is he involved?” He applauded Spears’ courage for speaking in court.
Jamie Spears’ lawyers told the court that he is concerned about his daughter’s wellbeing. They denied that he was responsible for restrictions placed on her private life.
