Judge in Phil Spector trial slams forensic expert

The Superior Court Judge in Phil Spector's murder trial ruled on Wednesday, May 23rd that noted forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee removed evidence from the scene where Lana Clarkson was murdered. The Associated Press reported that Judge Larry Paul Fidler said that he would not hold Lee in contempt of court because of differing accounts of what had happened at the scene. Fidler added in a hearing without the jury present that, "If Dr. Lee has this object, he's to produce it forthwith... Dr. Lee has a lot to lose here."

Fidler stated that he only found defense witness attorney Sara Caplan to be completely credible on the issue. Caplan, who was part of the Spector defense team early on in the case, had testified that she had seen Lee pick up a piece of a white object with a rough edge and place it in a vial.

The prosecution claims that the missing object is a piece of Clarkson's fingernail, which, with a trace of a passing bullet, would prove that Spector's gun was forcibly shoved in her mouth.

Lee has been a leading forensic witness in such high profile trials as those of O.J. Simpson and William Kennedy Smith. He also hosted his own show on Court TV.

Spector remains free on $1 million bail.