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A day after Britney Spears tearfully declared that she wanted to charge her father with “conservation abuse,” experts say a criminal charge may be laid, but the legal team would need to the pop star proves that Jamie Spears has stolen his money in the past 13 years.
A request was approved for Britney Spears to hire her own lawyer on Wednesday after the court was forced to deal with the sudden departure of her former court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, who is handling her case since 2008. Ingham has been replaced by Britney The lawyer personally chosen by Spears, former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Rosengart said his cabinet would examine “from top to bottom” how James “Jamie” Spears handled his daughter’s guardianship.
“We will act quickly and aggressively to [Jamie Spears’] withdrawal, ”said Rosengart. “The question remains: why is he involved? He should resign voluntarily because it is in Britney Spears’ best interests.
Britney Spears burst into tears during Wednesday’s hearing, detailing years of controlling her father’s behavior, including having her driver’s license and vitamins withdrawn, even limiting the types of foods she can. eat on certain days.
“I am here to get rid of my father and accuse him of abuse of guardianship,” she said on a conference call.
Jamie Spears’ legal team has repeatedly denied the abuse allegations, saying he only had his daughter’s best interests at heart.
Guardianship lawyers and experts told NBC News it would take much more than words to lay a criminal charge against her father, who has looked after her guardianship for the past 13 years.
“She would have to prove that Jamie is embezzling his money, embezzling it for his own profit or taking his property – essentially by stealing his money,” said Tamar Arminak, a lawyer who worked with the parents of actress Amanda Bynes in her guardianship case.
The process would likely be a difficult road as funds used by Jamie Spears over the past 13 years had to be approved by the court, Arminak added. While it’s undeniable that Britney Spears’ father took “huge sums of money” for his own salary as a curator, this is not necessarily uncommon in trusteeship cases.
Excessive financial burdens may not constitute criminal abuse, but they could signal the “beginning of the end of Jamie under guardianship,” according to Arminak.
“If he was doing it for free, we could say that he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart and as a caring father,” Arminak said. “But if he charges as much as a court-appointed professional curator, if not more, why not change him?” To someone who is a professional or someone who has a more peaceful relationship with her? “
Britney Spears’ case is unlike any other trusteeship case, given the huge success of the international pop star, said NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos. But some of the issues she raised in court – control over her diet, money and personal life – are what the Guardians are supposed to do.
“The mere fact that a conservative is not satisfied with his conservative does not constitute abuse,” he said. “But if there was criminal financial activity or physical abuse, it would be easier to prove abuse of guardianship.”
It’s also entirely possible that Britney Spears didn’t want to implicate a criminal charge against her father at all, according to attorney David Esquibias, who represented Amanda Bynes.
“Usually the conservative ax does not reach the criminal level unless it is theft or embezzlement or some kind of financial embezzlement,” he said.
The singer used the word “accusation” during Wednesday’s hearing, but said she would like to sue her family in her June 23 testimony. Esquibias suggested she may have meant on Wednesday that she wanted to take civil action, possibly suing her father for breach of his fiduciary duty.
“And in this case, she would file a petition with the inheritance court, she would detail in her petition the alleged wrongdoing, cite the law he violated and would probably ask for financial penalties against him,” he said. he declares. “He will file a response and the court will ask the parties to discuss mediation between the two parties. “
If the father and daughter cannot come to an agreement, the case will go to trial, Esquibias explained.
“Members of the public do not file complaints, it is the exclusive job of the district attorney,” Esquibias said. “If a prosecutor decides that it is abuse, he must file a criminal complaint.”
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