'Free Britney' lawyer Lisa MacCarley says psychiatrist whose 'mythological declaration' helped place Britney Spears in a conservatorship in 2008 should be deposed, court documents show
A lawyer filed a declaration in support of Britney Spears saying the doctor should testify and his infamous 2008 medical report should be made public.
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- A 'Free Britney' conservatorship attorney said a few key figures need to be deposed before Britney.
- The lawyer said in an amicus brief that the doctor who diagnosed Britney with dementia should go first.
- Attorney Lisa MacFarley said the doctor's "mythological declaration" enabled the conservatorship.
A conservatorship attorney involved with the "Free Britney" movement claimed that the doctor who lawyers allege diagnosed the pop star with dementia in 2008 should testify before Jamie Spears has the opportunity to depose his daughter, according to court documents.
Though the conservatorship has ended, there are still financial details that are being worked out, including who would pay for the attorneys retained during the conservatorship. In the lead-up to a contentious conservatorship hearing, Jamie Spears has asked for Britney Spears to be deposed because of allegations she's slung at him over social media.
In an amicus brief filed in support of the pop star on Monday, lawyer Lisa MacCarley said that Britney "is the last person on Earth who should be deposed in this case."
"The first person on Earth who should be deposed is Dr. James Edward Spar," MacCarley wrote. "Afterall, it is Dr. Spar's mythological declaration that placed Britney Jean Spears under the control and custody of James P. Spears, over her objections, in the first place."
In the brief, MacCarley pushed back on recent filings from Jamie's legal team asking Britney Spears to be deposed over allegations she's made about her father on Instagram recently – including claims that he forced her to get blood drawn at times and also restricted access to needed pain medication.
Britney Spears was in a 13-year conservatorship that granted a group of people, including her father, control over her personal, medical, and financial decisions.
On September 7, Jamie Spears filed a petition to end Britney Spears' conservatorship, which the pop star's legal team labeled as a "massive" legal victory. The conservatorship was officially terminated on November 12.
As part of the ongoing matters the courts are looking at now, Britney's legal team alleged that in a 2008 medical report, Dr. Spar diagnosed that the singer had dementia and did not have the capacity to hire her own lawyer. He has denied ever meeting the pop star. Spar did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
Attorneys for Britney Spears and Jamie Spears did not immediately return Insider's requests for comment.
That diagnosis helped paved the way for her father to take the reins as a conservator and for Samuel Ingham to become Britney Spears' court-appointed attorney, marching in lockstep with Jamie, MacFarley said.
Specifically, MacFarley said that all of the lawyers and experts who testified at a closed February 4, 2008 hearing about Britney's wellbeing should be forced to be deposed, and the resulting medical report – with redactions – should be made public.
"Understand the power dynamics of the Los Angeles County Probate Court and this case resolves itself in Britney's favor: WHO was supposed to protect Britney? WHO agreed to pay Mr. Ingham $10000 a week?" MacFarley wrote. "It is time that we all learned the truth about the judges and lawyers who left Britney, without a lifeline, under the control and custody of a violent male relative who had a long history of abusive and dysfunctional behavior."
MacFarley told Insider over email that "there no basis "in the law" for denying Jamie Spears' counsel the opportunity to depose Britney," and said that Britney's legal team's "myopic focus on Jamie is absurd, if not tragic."
In the Netflix documentary "Britney Vs. Spears," producers claimed to have sourced Dr. Spar's report which said in it that "Britney Jean Spears lacks the capacity to retain and direct counsel."
"[She] lacks the capacity to understand or manage her own financial affairs without being subject to undue influence," the report reads, according to the producers of the documentary. The report was issued on March 5, 2008, weeks after Jamie had been appointed as a temporary conservator.
Dr. Spar sat down for an interview with the producers of the documentary and said that he was a "retired geriatric psychiatrist," who still did "the occasional consultation for attorneys, including contested conservatorship sometimes."
At a hearing on Wednesday, a judge may rule on matters related to whether Britney Spears needs to pay attorney fees for Ingham and other parties, conservator fees for her father, and whether Jamie Spears will be able to compel his daughter's deposition.