A judge allowed Britney Spears to hire an attorney of her choosing at a hearing Wednesday in which she broke down in tears after describing the B次元官网网址渃rueltyB次元官网网址� of her conservatorship.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny approved Spears hiring former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, who called on SpearsB次元官网网址� father to immediately resign as her conservator.

B次元官网网址淭he question remains, why is he involved,B次元官网网址� Rosengart said outside the courthouse.

Britney Spears, taking part in the hearing by phone, told the judge she approved of Rosengart after several conversations with him. She then asked to address the court, but asked that the courtroom be cleared.

As Rosengart began to argue for a private hearing, Spears interrupted him to say B次元官网网址淚 can talk with it open.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢y dad needs to be removed today,B次元官网网址� she said, adding that she would like to see him charged with abusing his position.

She spoke so rapidly she was at times difficult for the court reporter and the dozens of media members in the courtroom to understand.

She said she wanted the conservatorship to end immediately but not if it required going through any more B次元官网网址渟tupidB次元官网网址� evaluations. She said she did not want another opportunity for B次元官网网址減eople to question my intelligence for the millionth time.B次元官网网址�

She described being denied things as basic as coffee, her driverB次元官网网址檚 license and her B次元官网网址渉air vitaminsB次元官网网址� by the conservatorship.

B次元官网网址淚f this is not abuse, I donB次元官网网址檛 know what is,B次元官网网址� Spears said.

She recalled that B次元官网网址淚 thought they were trying to kill meB次元官网网址� in the early years of the conservatorship as she was being overworked and constantly examined.

She began to sob as she talked about taking comfort in a therapy dog when she felt abandoned by her family.

James Spears would not be stepping down as Rosengart challenged, his attorney Vivan Thoreen said in court, adding that he has only ever had his daughterB次元官网网址檚 best interests in mind.

Thoreen said Britney Spears had many inaccurate beliefs, among them that B次元官网网址渉er father is responsible for all the bad things that have happened to her.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲hether itB次元官网网址檚 misinformation, lack of correction, or being wrongly advised, I donB次元官网网址檛 know,B次元官网网址� Thoreen said.

Thoreen emphasized that for nearly two years James Spears has had control only over his daughterB次元官网网址檚 money, ceding power over her life choices to a court-appointed professional, Jodi Montgomery.

Thoreen argued that an evidentiary hearing was necessary to look into the allegations that Britney Spears made at the June 23 hearing, including that she was being forced to take medications and use an intra-uterine device for birth control.

Thoreen said she found it odd Britney Spears would describe those circumstances, which the pop star called B次元官网网址渁busive,B次元官网网址� then approve of Montgomery continuing in her role as overseer.

MontgomeryB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Lauriann Wright, responded that the last thing Britney Spears needed was to be put on the stand and cross-examined over the truth of what she said during her emotional testimony.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 a secret that weB次元官网网址檙e dealing with someone with mental illness,B次元官网网址� Wright said.

Wright added that itB次元官网网址檚 been B次元官网网址渟trongly recommended by her medical team that her father Mr. Spears needs to be off the conservatorship.B次元官网网址�

Britney Spears has been under court supervision since February 2008. She was in the midst of a public meltdown at the time and her family sought the conservatorship for her protection.

She has had throughout the proceedings a court-appointed attorney to represent her interests, Samuel Ingham III, but in which the pop star told Penny:

Fans from the #FreeBritney movement outside the courthouse cheered the decision to appoint Rosengart, then cheered Rosengart himself when he walked out.

In court, he called into question whether the conservatorship should ever have been put into place, and said he and a team of attorneys from his firm would be taking a close look at the details of the arrangement.

B次元官网网址淭his is not working,B次元官网网址� Rosengart said. B次元官网网址淲e know that.B次元官网网址�

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz made a brief appearance addressing the Spears supporters outside the downtown Los Angels courthouse, at one point shouting B次元官网网址淔ree Britney!B次元官网网址�

In Washington, D.C., a group of Spears supporters demonstrated on the National Mall in support of the singer.

The case had for several years operated with little drama, though questions about how its length and the singerB次元官网网址檚 feelings about the proceedings, arose in recent years. That has culminated into intense public scrutiny of the court proceedings, which have been conducted largely in secret due to medical and private information about the singer and her condition.

There has also been focus on the complex network of lawyers and others involved in the conservatorship.

Penny again gave little indication of what moves sheB次元官网网址檒l make next, scheduling another hearing for late September and expressing hope that the warring factions will find common ground for Britney SpearsB次元官网网址� sake.

B次元官网网址淓verybody should be working collaboratively,B次元官网网址� the judge said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not about anybody else, itB次元官网网址檚 about her.B次元官网网址�

Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press

Like us on and follow us on .

Want to support local journalism? Make a donation