Britney Spears case drives California bid to limit conservatorships

It is unclear how many people are under conservatorships in California owing to a lack of data

Disability rights activists and advocates for Britney Spears backed a California proposal on January 18, 2022, to provide more protections for those under court-ordered conservatorships, while promoting less-restrictive alternatives. AP PhotoShow less

Disability rights activists and advocates for Britney Spears backed a California proposal on Wednesday to provide more protections for those under court-ordered conservatorships, while promoting less-restrictive alternatives.

Their move came as the volatile Spears case again boiled over in a Los Angeles County courtroom.

The hearing to settle lingering issues in the aftermath of Spears’s conservatorship, which was terminated in November, quickly descended into a series of angry accusations between lawyers for Spears and her father, and the case appears headed for a long trial to determine the truth of allegations of misconduct against him.

The case is Exhibit #1 for groups including Disability Voices United, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Education & Defence Fund, and Free Britney LA who say that what are known as probate conservatorships are overused and misused in California.

Maggie Howell, a supporter of pop star Britney Spears, protests next to a cardboard cutout of the singer at the Lincoln Memorial, during the Free Britney rally, in Washington, DC in July 2021. AP Photo

They most often involve people with developmental or intellectual disabilities or those with age-related issues such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.

But the advocacy groups contend that conservatees such as Spears can become trapped in a system that removes their civil rights and the ability to advocate themselves.

“Conservatorships should be rare and the last resort,” said Judy Mark, president of Disability Voices United, a Southern California advocacy group. “The default should be that people with disabilities retain their rights and get support when they need it.”

The groups backed legislation by Democratic Assemblyman Brian Maienschein that will also make it easier to end conservatorships for people who want out.

They are promoting instead what are known as “supported decision-making” agreements as a less restrictive alternative. They allow people with disabilities to choose someone to help them understand, make and communicate their choices, but allow the person to still make the decision.

That option has already been adopted in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Washington, DC, advocates said.

California law says conservatorships should only be ordered if a judge rules they are the least restrictive alternative. But the advocates contend they are often imposed without examining other options.

Maienschein's bill would require that before granting a conservatorship, judges first document that all other alternatives including supported decision-making have been considered.

It would write supported decision-making into California law and back that alternative with grant programmes, training and technical assistance.

The bill also would make it easier to end probate conservatorships by mandating a periodic review, including asking conservatees if they want to make the conservatorship less restrictive or end it entirely.

Conservators would also be required to consult with the conservatees and make decisions that reflect the conservatee’s wishes or previously expressed preferences.

Before his election to the Legislature, Maienschein was a law clerk for a San Diego Superior Court judge who oversaw conservatorships.

Britney Spears's lawyer Matthew Rosengart speaks to the press and #FreeBritney activists after a hearing in which Spears's father, Jamie Spears, was removed by a judge as conservator of her estate, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on September 29, 2021 in Los Angeles. AFP

“I saw first-hand the role that the court plays in establishing conservatorships, and the potential for abuse,” he said during an online news conference. “The system in California is in desperate need of reform.”

Maienschein called Spears “arguably the world’s most famous conservatee,” but said his bill would aid the many others who don't have "the benefit of worldwide fame to shine a light on her case.”

Spears drew widespread attention to the issue, culminating in November when a Los Angeles judge ended the conservatorship that controlled the pop singer’s life and finances for nearly 14 years.

"I believe that if AB1663 had been in effect 13 years ago, the court would have been unable to conserve Britney Spears, and now Britney's story lights the way for where changes in our laws need to be made," said Mark, of Disability Voices United.

Advocates said it is unclear how many people are under conservatorships in California because the data isn't collected. They said Spears's battle is an example of how conservatorships are too easily imposed and too difficult to end.

In 2008, when her father sought the conservatorship – at first on a temporary basis – she was a new mother aged 26 who’d had several public mental health struggles during the height of her career.

Spears was not present at the court hearing where her constitutional rights were assigned to her father, nor were less-restrictive measures attempted before putting her under a conservatorship, said Free Britney LA organiser Leanne Simmons.

It ended only after Spears engaged in a multi-year struggle, and after she won the right to pick her own lawyer.

“While unique in many ways, it follows a very common pattern of exploitation within the probate court system here in California,” Simmons said.