Britney Spears hearing may mean freedom from court or father

Difficult decisions await a Los Angeles Superior Court judge at what could be a pivotal hearing in the conservatorship controlling the life and money of Britney Spears

LOS ANGELES -- Judge Brenda Penny has been the calm eye of the storm surrounding Britney Spears and the conservatorship that controls her life.

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.