Judge OKs Delay in Spector Murder Case

ALHAMBRA, Calif. – Music producer Phil Spector (search) and his new lawyer said Tuesday they need more time to prepare for his murder case and won a delay in scheduling the preliminary hearing.

Superior Court Judge Carlos Uranga, after meeting with lawyers, said the date will be set Dec. 16.

Spector is charged with the shooting of actress Lana Clarkson (search) in his home on Feb. 3, 2003.

Los Angeles County district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said prosecutors did not oppose the delay and that the trend for delays in high-profile cases is to be expected.

"The district attorney is used to having cases like this move like a herd of turtles," Gibbons said.

New York attorney Bruce Cutler (search), who recently took over Spector's defense, told reporters he hoped to restore his client's name to what it was before February 2003.

"This case never should have been brought," Cutler said. "Our aim is not only to win this case but also to win it in the court of public opinion."

Spector, 64, praised his new attorney.

"I think Bruce Cutler is a genius. There was no crime committed and I'm sure he'll bring forth evidence that the district attorney has been hiding," he said.

The district attorney's office "obviously disagrees" with Spector's statement and believes a crime was committed, Gibbons said.

Cutler is representing Spector along with veteran Los Angeles attorney Roger Rosen. Cutler is best known in New York for his defense of mob boss John Gotti (search) and has been portrayed by federal prosecutors in New York as "house counsel" for the Gambino crime family.

Cutler and Rosen recently took over from Leslie Abramson and Marcia Morrissey, who resigned after working with Spector for about four months.

Clarkson, 40, was best known as the star of Roger Corman's cult film classic "Barbarian Queen." She was working as a hostess at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip and went home from there with Spector the night she was killed.

Spector, famed for creating rock 'n' roll's "wall of sound" recording technique in the 1960s, is free on $1 million bail.