Civil rights groups urge probate judge to allow Britney Spears to choose lawyer

Shortly after reports that a new lawyer would argue he should be allowed to represent Britney Spears in her conservatorship challenge, the pop singer received support from civil rights and disability groups calling for her right to pick her own counsel ahead of a hearing Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California filed an amicus curiae brief in Los Angeles County Superior Court signed by 25 other civil rights groups. They stated that people under conservatorship often see a loss of their due process rights under the Constitution, such as the right to choose counsel.

"Proposed amici believe that these due process rights include effective assistance of counsel throughout the conservatorship process, including the right to an attorney who zealously represents their interests, and the right to select and retain the attorney of their choice," the brief stated.

Spears questioned the advocacy she received from her court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, during a hearing in June. Ingham asked to resign from the conservatorship case this month.

Mathew S. Rosengart, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP, reportedly will attend Spears' hearing on Wednesday to ask Judge Brenda Penny to appoint him as Spears' counsel.

Greenberg Traurig declined to comment.

Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor, has represented several celebrities. In 2017, he wrote a column published in the Daily Journal about strategies lawyers should take when representing celebrity clients.

It is unclear what impact Rosengart had on the civil rights groups' decision to file amici in the case. Their brief stated that no party or party's counsel wrote the brief or made any contributions in accordance with court rules.

Zoë Brennan-Krohn, staff attorney with the ACLU's Disability Rights Project, wrote in a statement that the court should respect Spears' wish to choose her counsel.

"The court should ensure Spears has access to the tools she needs to make that choice meaningfully and to hire someone she trusts to advocate for her stated goal: to get out of her conservatorship," Brennan-Krohn said in the statement. "Spears' right to select an attorney is not only a basic tenet of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, but also consistent with principles of personal autonomy and agency. The California Superior Court must recognize Spears' autonomy and the rights of people with disabilities to live independent, self-directed lives as active members of their communities."

ACLU representatives did not comment on whether they communicated with Rosengart before filing the brief.

Spears' conservatorship case has attracted attention from lawyers and the public. During the June hearing, the court's remote hearing website partially crashed after it was overwhelmed with people trying to hear Spears testify.

Spears asked the court to end her conservatorship by her father, James P. Spears, calling it "embarrassing and demoralizing."