The judge in the murder trial of music impresario Phil Spector said Wednesday he's leaning toward allowing the trial to be televised and will make a decision after hearing from lawyers later this month.

The 67-year-old music producer -- famed for creating the "wall of sound" recording technique that revolutionized rock music -- is charged with killing actress Lana Clarkson in his suburban mansion on February 3, 2003.

"This is a trial of public interest," said Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler. "I always have a problem with commentators telling people what is going on rather than letting the public see the trial for themselves. I'm a firm believer in having the public see it."

"We do not oppose cameras in the courtroom," said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney.

Great.. Just what daytime TV needed.. Another big trial to fill the channels with crap. The OJ Trial ratings were amazingly high. There were some people that spent more time watching OJ in the court on TV, than OJ actually spent in the court.

I hope this just gets largely ignored. A movie about it two years from now, that would be different...

Here is a some background on Spector via Wikipedia:

Spector has had many conflicts, sometimes bizarre, with the artists, songwriters and promoters he worked with. His domineering attitude toward Ronnie Spector led to the dissolution of their marriage. Ronnie Spector has claimed that Spector showed her a gold coffin with a glass top in his basement, promising to kill and display her should she ever choose to leave him; he had earlier forbid her from speaking to the Rolling Stones or touring with the Beatles for fear of infidelity. During Spector's reclusive period in the late 1960s, he reportedly kept his wife locked inside their mansion. She claimed he also hid her shoes to dissuade her from walking outside. Spector's son later claimed that he was kept locked inside his room, with a pot in the corner to be used as a toilet. Ronnie Spector did leave the producer and filed for divorce in 1972. She wrote a book about her experiences, and said years later, "I can only say that when I left in the early '70s, I knew that if I didn't leave at that time, I was going to die there." In 1998, Spector and her fellow Ronettes sued Spector for allegedly cheating them of royalties and licensing fees, winning a $3 million judgement; however, an appeals court later reversed the decision, upholding the terms of the group's binding 1963 contract.

Stories of Spector's gunplay mounted over the years, including his discharging a firearm while in the studio with John Lennon during the recording of his cover album Rock 'n' Roll, placing a loaded pistol at Leonard Cohen's head during the sessions for Death of a Ladies' Man, and forcing Dee Dee Ramone to play bass guitar to Spector's specifications at gunpoint. The band reportedly had to play the opening chord to the song "Rock and Roll High School" for eight hour straight; Johnny Ramone later described the session philosophically: "It was a positive learning experience. And that chord does sound really good." Marky Ramone said, "A lot of these things were overblown, and a lot of these things were alcohol-induced."

Phil Spector trial might be televised, judge says - CNN.com