Britney Spears conservatorship hearing may mean freedom from court or father

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny has thus far been able to act more as a caretaker than a dictator in Britney Spears' conservatorship case, but at a potentially pivotal hearing on Wednesday afternoon, she will be pressed to make major decisions on whether to keep Spears' father on as her conservator, or whether to end the conservatorship altogether.

Now all eyes are on her.

The Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has thus far been able to act more as a caretaker than a dictator in the case, but at a potentially pivotal hearing on Wednesday afternoon, she will be pressed to make major decisions on whether to keep Spears' father on as her conservator, or whether to end the conservatorship altogether.

Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart has been aggressively pushing for the ouster of her father James Spears since moments after Penny allowed her to hire Rosengart in July. Penny denied Rosengart's request for an emergency hearing on the issue, telling the attorney it could wait until Wednesday.

And in a major reversal, James Spears, who first sought the conservatorship in 2008 and has been its primary overseer ever since, has filed a petition to end it altogether. He urged the judge to make a decision on the issue Wednesday and make questions of his status moot.