Britney Spears Wins Right To New Lawyer In Battle To Remove Dad

A judge ruled Britney Spears could appoint her own lawyer to help end a guardianship that the pop superstar slammed as "cruelty."

An emotional Britney Spears scored a victory in her bid to end her father's control of her affairs Wednesday, as a judge ruled she could appoint her own lawyer to help end a guardianship that the pop superstar slammed as "cruelty." Spears phoned back into a Los Angeles court, three weeks after her first explosive testimony in which she pleaded with a judge to free her from the years-long conservatorship ramped up worldwide interest in the case. During Wednesday's hearing, Judge Brenda Penny accepted the resignation of Spears' previous attorney and signaled she would accept the 39-year-old's new choice, Mathew Rosengart, to represent her. Rosengart told AFP on the sidelines of the hearing that he would file a petition "as soon as possible" to remove Jamie Spears as the conservator -- and suggested the singer's father should simply step down.