Spector attorneys quit

By Dana Ford

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Phil Spector's lead attorneys told a judge on Wednesday they were quitting the case, delaying the legendary rock figure's murder retrial for several months while he assembles a new defence team.

Prosecutors have said they will try Spector, best known for his "Wall of Sound" recording technique, again for the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson after the first trial ended last week with the jury deadlocked 10-2 for conviction.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler told both sides he wanted the new trial to begin within four months and set another hearing in the case for October 23.

But Spector's lead attorney Roger Rosen, who is stepping down from the case along with Bradley Brunon and Linda Kenney-Baden, said that might be difficult because Spector's new lawyers would need time to prepare.

Rosen said he was leaving the case in part because, after the first five-month trial, he needed to turn his attention to other clients. He said Spector, 67, also wanted the "fresh perspective" of a new defence team.

"Of course now (Spector) is faced with this ordeal all over again and I'm sure from that point of view he's not happy," Rosen told reporters.

Clarkson, who starred in such films as "Amazon Women on the Moon" and "Barbarian Queen," was found dead in the foyer of Spector's Los Angeles area mock-castle in the early morning hours of February 3, 2003.

Both prosecutors and defence attorneys agreed that Clarkson, 40, was killed by a gunshot through the mouth.