On June 23, Britney Spears testified in court for the first time since the inception of the Free Britney movement.
Though the hearing on September 29 was not livestreamed as that one was, the eyes of the world were fixed upon the proceedings.
Jubilation erupted across social media as Judge Brenda Penny reportedly ordered that Jamie Spears be suspended as conservator.
After so many years of waiting and fighting, Britney is free of her father.
The hearing began on Wednesday, September 29 at 1:30 PM (Pacific Time) at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in L.A.
Court was closed to the public but filled with journalists, some of whom emerged to share all that they experienced.
Almost everyone participating in the trial did so via livestream, but some attorneys — including Britney’s — were physically present.
Britney Spears was only recently permitted to hire her own attorney, Mathew Rosengart, to represent her.
Through him, she has been able to fight for her freedom in unprecedented ways.
Surprisingly, her awful father — the man who has held her prisoner in this conservatorship for nearly 14 years — has seemingly come around on key issues.
It was Jamie Spears’ attorney, Vivian Thoreen, who first — because she addressed the court first — asked Judge Penny to put the termination of the conservatorship on the docket.
According to reports from the courtroom, she explained that all parties agree on the conservatorship ending.
As such, she expressed dismay that anything else even mattered beside ending the conservatorship altogether.
Notably, Britney and her attorney asked the court to remove Jamie Spears from the conservatorship immediately and without delay.
This is perhaps just as important as ending the conservatorship, for multiple reasons.
Part of that is that it’s easier to do, and part is that Britney’s attorney suspects that Jamie hopes to avoid legal trouble by abruptly closing the conservatorship.
Britney and her attorney have put forward John Zabel, a certified public accountant, to replace Jamie until the conservatorship is terminated.
Jamie has argued that Zabel is not qualified, though this claim has been disputed by numerous other parties.
Jamie also insisted that no one should replace him as conservator at all, which is viewed as suspect by numerous legal commentators.
Mathew Rosengart delivered what was described by witnesses as “powerful testimony” on behalf of his client, Britney.
He accused Jamie of only wanting two things — delay and money.
For nearly fourteen years, Jamie has gotten large helpings of both. Rosengart seeks to end that, now.
Significantly, and on the courtroom record, Rosengart asked the court to issue a suspension of Jamie immediately.
This, he stressed, is in accordance with his client’s long-held desires and her best interests.
Rosengart shared with the court the belief that Jamie wishes to avoid suspension so that he can negotiate a settlement and possibly avoid having damning evidence come to light.
Rosengart also explained to the court that simply ordering the termination of the conservatorship could lead to the matter being mediated.
In other words, his worry is that Jamie might try to stretch this out for months.
That’s not in the best interests of his client or her estate, which is why the other matters on the docket are so important.
According to an observer at Britney’s trial who later tweeted a description, Mathew Rosengart had more to say.
“Jamie wants a termination instead of a suspension and orderly termination because it means he won’t have to turn over records as a fiduciary of the estate,” the tweet reads.
This would mean “avoiding his abuses and behavior being exposed.”
Recent reports described Jamie making use of surveillance equipment to monitor Britney’s communications, even recording audio from her bedroom.
The FBI is reportedly investigating this as a possible criminal matter.
As one can imagine, Mathew Rosengart brought this up on behalf of his client, calling Jamie’s behavior “unfathomable.”
These alleged records included private conversations that Britney had with her children.
Additionally, they included conversations between Britney and her own legal counsel — a chilling violation of her rights and privacy.
The potential legal ramifications, considering that Jamie has been Britney’s opponent in court more than once, could be severe, depending upon what investigators uncover.
Rosengart also shared with the court that it is at Britney’s insistence that he brings up the matter of Jamie’s suspension.
He urged the court to suspend Jamie immediately and without further delay.
When Jamie’s attorney attempted to shoot down the surveillance claims, Rosengart noted that he is free to testify under oath in court to that effect.
Rosengart also eviscerated Jamie’s challenges to Zabel’s qualifications to act as Britney’s conservator.
Notably, he said, Jamie himself is not an actual expert in conservatorships and does not have a background qualifying him for this work.
Rosengart reportedly added that Jamie’s legal experience runs more along the lines of being barred by protective orders after allegedly attacking his grandson.
Based upon reports of others from within the courtroom, it sounds like Rosengart and Thoreen clashed.
Thoreen appeared to challenge the veracity of Britney’s historic testimony in June.
Rosengart affirmed his belief that Jamie wants delays and mediations so that he can extract more money and avoid legal consequences.
Multiple accounts say that Rosengart doubled down on accusing Jamie of reversing his stance on the conservatorship to protect himself.
Britney accused him of conservatorship abuse, and with such widespread and vocal support, Rosengart believes that Jamie is afraid of what could come out in a protracted court battle.
An extended mediation, the theory goes, would give Jamie more control with fewer sordid details coming to light — or being reviewed by any successor.
At about 3:15 PM Pacific Time, reports came out on social media based upon courtroom witnesses’ accounts.
It is reported that Judge Brenda Penny ordered that Jamie be suspended from the conservatorship immediately.
“My order suspending Jamie Spears shall remain in full force and effect until a hearing on removal,” Judge Penny is quoted as having said.
While this certainly sounds like ample cause for celebration, we have to stress that we are reporting on the very first trickle of information from the hearing.
We are sure that more information, along with thorough legal analysis, will be forthcoming very soon. There will still be more hearings in the future.
This is an exciting and long-awaited development for Britney Spears. We wish her all of the best.