California Superior Court Judge Brenda J. Penny can, on her own motion, call a hearing on behalf of Grammy-winner Britney Spears after hearing her pleas for help this week, according to an attorney who specializes in conservatorship law.
“When the court becomes aware through whatever means that a court-appointed attorney has performed negligently or harmfully to a litigant, the judge can call for a Marsden hearing,” said Tom Coleman, attorney and founder of the Disability and Guardianship Project in Palm Springs, which monitors the conservatorship system statewide for abuses, neglect, and exploitation.
Coleman was responding to a statement Spears made in open court that her court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, did not inform her that she could move the court to terminate the conservatorship that has left her with no right to refuse medication or even get married.
“If I were Sam, I would be shaking in my boots right now,” Coleman told the Southern California Record. “Britney has just blown the whistle on malpractice by him if it's true that he never advised her about that. She's accusing him of failing to advise her that she could have petitioned to terminate the conservatorship a long time ago.”
Spears, whose estate is worth some $60 million, was placed under conservatorship in 2008 after a mental health crisis.
Under conservatorship law, a Marsden hearing is a confidential hearing in the courtroom where only the judge, the immediate court staff, the court-appointed attorney, and the litigant are present.
“What Britney showed to people who are under conservatorship yesterday is that you can fight back and you can speak up even if your court-appointed lawyer is trying to muzzle you or giving you bad advice,” Coleman said in an interview. “You have a right to have your lawyer fired by the court if you want if they're not performing properly.”
As previously reported, fans of the pop star have rallied in recent years demanding her release from conservatorship and brought to the forefront the plight of adults who are trapped in unjust and, in some cases, abusive court-appointed conservatorships, also known as guardianships.
In a March 9 letter addressed to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, GOP Congressmen Matt Gaetz of Florida and ranking member Jim Jordan of Ohio requested a hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee to review the conservatorship of Spears and others who may be unconstitutionally trapped under court supervision. Congressman Nadler has yet to respond.
Spears confirmed the suspicions of her fans on Wednesday, June 23 when she appeared in court remotely and said that she is traumatized, that the conservatorship is abusive, and that she is being exploited, according to media reports.
“For people under conservatorship who don't have the ability to speak up because they're too drugged, are being kept away or have dementia or something, then it’s incumbent upon those who love and care about them to be a surrogate spokesperson for them, and to speak out publicly in court about any abuses or wrongdoings they see,” Coleman said. “Get it on the record and name names of who's doing the wrongdoing.”
A follow-up hearing is set for July 14.
“If Britney really wanted to be aggressive and to shake things up, she could file a complaint with the state bar of California against her court-appointed attorney for violating her rights,” Coleman added.
Spears also reportedly expressed a desire to potentially sue her family and others involved in the conservatorship.
Although it creates the appearance of a conflict of interest for Ingham as to whether he can continue to perform, Coleman said Spears can sue anyone involved for breach of fiduciary duty.
“Britney told the court she was being drugged against her will, that people were coming and going into her house that she didn't want there and that she was being forced to keep an IUD in her even though she wanted it out to possibly have a baby," he said. "These are all, over and above the financial considerations, violations of her constitutional rights.”