On Wednesday, Britney Spears was granted her request to employ her own attorney, a move that might signal a fundamental shift in the way her 13-year conservatorship case is handled.

The court hearing had to be rescheduled due to the unexpected departure of her court-appointed counsel, Samuel D. Ingham III, who had been handling her case since 2008. Judge Brenda Penny of the Los Angeles County Superior Court granted Ingham’s resignation and the appointment of Spears’ chosen attorney, veteran federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Spears sobbed as she told the judge that she is “very afraid” of her father, James “Jamie” Spears, and that she is unwilling to be examined in order to have him removed.

She stated, “I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse.” She later said that “this conservatorship has allowed my dad to ruin my life.”

Last month, Spears asked the court for the ability to choose her own attorney, claiming that she was not informed of her right to terminate the conservatorship and that Ingham had silenced her.

“My lawyer, Sam, has been very scared for me to go forward, because he’s saying if I speak up, I’m being overworked. … He told me I should keep it to myself.”

In court on June 23, Spears stated that she would like “to actually handpick my own lawyer by myself.”

Two weeks later, Ingham filed his resignation with the court, stating that he would resign as soon as the court deemed it necessary to replace him.

Last month, Spears made it apparent that she wants to be free of her conservatorship and restore her independence, and finding a new counsel could be the first step. In the interim, she has sought for greater control in her case, requesting more input in her medical care and the ability to complete her therapy from the comfort of her own home.

Her mother, Lynne Spears, and her conservator-of-the-person, Jodi Montgomery, both support her desire to have her own private counsel. Lynne Spears filed a request asking the court to allow her daughter to hire her own attorney, claiming she is capable of taking care of herself.

“Now, and for the past many years, Conservatee is able to care for her person and in fact has, inside of the parameters of this conservatorship, earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity. … Her capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008, and Conservatee should no longer be held to the 2008 standard, whereby she was found to ‘not have the capacity to retain counsel,'” Lynne Spears’ motion said.

Montgomery, Spears’ conservator-of-the-person since 2019, filed a second support motion, requesting that the court reach an agreement by appointing a temporary guardian ad litem to assist her in choosing an attorney.

The motion said Montgomery “believes that a Guardian ad Litem for this limited purpose is the only way to both honor [Britney Spears’] wish to select counsel without a medical evaluation and protect her interests.”

Montgomery has had many contacts with Spears about her want to hire her own lawyer, according to the document. It also included screenshots of what appear to be deleted text communications between her and Spears, despite the fact that the contact at the top of the texts is referred to as “Jane Doe.”

Montgomery wrote in one of his messages, “Getting you a new attorney, by filing with the court is the best legal approach. Your dad has excellent attorneys and you should too.”

According to a note purportedly from Spears, “I need u to stay as my co conservator of person. I’m asking u for ur assistance in getting a new attorney.”

In an amicus brief filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the American Civil Liberties Union requested the chance to address the court on Wednesday. The ACLU, together with around two dozen mental health and disability rights organizations, contended that Spears’ right to hire her own counsel is protected by the Constitution.

Zoë Brennan-Krohn, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Disability Rights Project said, “Spears’ right to select an attorney is not only a basic tenet of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, but also consistent with principles of personal autonomy and agency. The California Superior Court must recognize Spears’ autonomy and the rights of people with disabilities to live independent, self-directed lives as active members of their communities.”

Spears’ plight has attracted the attention of fans, who have launched a #FreeBritney campaign to end the conservatorship. Those who initiated the initiative are concerned that her father, James “Jamie” Spears, has taken advantage of what was supposed to be a transitory arrangement for his own gain.

Jamie Spears and his staff have strenuously disputed any allegations that he has exploited his position, insisting that he only has his daughter’s best interests in mind. Since 2008, when his daughter suffered a public breakdown, he has been appointed as her conservator. After his co-conservator, Andrew Wallet, resigned in 2019, he was briefly appointed sole executor of her estate.

Ingham filed a petition on behalf of Britney Spears to have her father removed off the board a year after Wallet quit. Spears, according to Ingham, is terrified of her father and would prefer to have her case handled by a professional.

The judge refused the request, but Bessemer Trust, a financial organization, was appointed as Jamie Spears’ co-conservator. Montgomery, Spears’ conservator-of-the-person, is in charge of her non-financial needs.

Following Spears’ testimony last month, Bessemer Trust filed its resignation with the court, claiming that it joined the conservatorship on the impression that she wanted to be in it and has since learned otherwise.