The ACLU has now entered into the fray of the legal battle between Britney Spears and her father, Jamie Spears.
On August 19, the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted, “People with disabilities have a right to lead self-directed lives and retain their civil rights. If Britney Spears wants to regain her civil liberties and get out of her conservatorship, we are here to help her.”
Zoe Brennan-Krohn, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Disability Rights Project, said in a Q&A on the organization’s website, “This issue is getting attention right now because of Britney Spears’ fame. But she is only one of untold thousands nationwide under or at risk of guardianship or conservatorship. The ACLU has advocated for expanding supported decision-making, an alternative to conservatorship or guardianship where people with disabilities can choose trusted support people to help them direct their lives, without court intervention or loss of civil rights.”
This offer of aid came after the pop star reportedly filed court paperwork requesting to have her father permanently removed as her conservator. According to documents obtained by Us Weekly, Spears’s lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III wrote that the pop star “is strongly opposed to having [Jamie] return as the conservator of her person.” It goes on to state that she “strongly prefers” that her care manager, Jodi Montgomery, “continue in that role as [she] has done for nearly a year.” Montgomery has been serving as an interim conservator since Jamie temporarily relieved himself of his duties due to health reasons last year.
However, Jamie ignored his daughter’s wishes, reportedly filing a petition of his own with the court in response, asking that he and Andrew Wallet—an attorney who previously oversaw the singer’s finances before voluntarily resigning in March 2019—be reinstated as co-conservators. In the filing, obtained by People, Spears’s father asks that he and Wallet be granted the “power to obtain all documents and records,” including “all contracts, information relating to credit cards, bank statements, estate planning documents, receivables, and any and all powers of attorney” in regards to the singer’s estate. The court scheduled a hearing regarding the co-conservator request for September 16. Perhaps, by that time, Britney will also have some new legal representation courtesy of the ACLU.
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