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It’s been a busy week with #FreeBritney updates but Britney Spears may be closer than ever to being allowed to hire her own attorney because she now has an important person petitioning the court- her mother. According to Variety, Lynne Spears asked the court Tuesday to “listen to the wishes of her daughter,” and allow Spears to hire her own private attorney.
Britney’s court-ordered attorney Samuel Ingham III asked to resign on Tuesday, July 6th after being “extremely upset” over claims that Spears made about him in court, per TMZ. That same day Lynne’s attorney filed the petition in court that said allowing Britney to find her own private legal counsel would be “the first step.” “It is self-evident that before the Court addresses, for example, the termination of the conservatorship, Conservatee must be allowed to consult with counsel of her choosing,” Lynne’s attorney wrote.
“Clearly, Conservatee needs private counsel to advise her as to her basic rights in this conservatorship.” Britney attempted to her hire a private attorney early in her conservatorship but the judge ruled that she did not have the capacity to retain her own counsel, despite never listening to her testimony, per New Yorker.
It was also reported by Variety that Britney’s court-appointed co-conservator Jodi Montgomery told the court on Wednesday that she has been getting death threats. However, Britney wants Montgomery to remain as the conservator of her “person,” so she is not going to “abandon her.” instead, Montgomery asked the court to allow Britney’s conservatorship estate to pay for 24/7 security at her home. In the motion, Montgomery included text messages from Britney that said: “I need u to stay as my co-conservator of person. I’m asking u for ur assistance in getting a new attorney. Thank u for ur help.”
Montgomery has been getting threats for a while but said it got worse after Britney’s shocking testimony on June 23. She provided an estimate that said the cost of security would be $25,000 every two weeks for a couple of months. The conservatorship estate, overseen by her father Jamie Spears, has been covering the cost but according to Variety, Jamie’s attorneys said they need a court order to allow the payments to continue, and that if the court denies the request, Montgomery would be personally liable for the expenses.