LOS ANGELES — Former radical fugitive Sara Jane Olson met behind closed doors Wednesday morning with lawyers and the judge in her bombing case, prompting courtroom speculation that the parties were negotiating a plea deal.

Neither side would comment on the meeting in Judge Larry Fidler's chambers. It was to continue after a lunch break.

Olson's 19-year-old daughter Sophie appeared to be crying as she waited in the court with her father, grandmother and about a dozen other supporters.

At a trial, Olson, a 54-year-old mother of three, faces life in prison if a jury convicts her of conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors allege Olson, formerly known as Kathleen Soliah, belonged to the radical Symbionese Liberation Army, the group that kidnapped Patty Hearst, and in 1975 helped plan the bombing of two police cars. The bombs did not explode and no one was hurt.

Olson maintains her innocence, but has frequently railed against conspiracy statutes, which she contends give the prosecutors the upper hand. During the trial, prosecutors plan to introduce extensive evidence about other crimes committed by the SLA, including the Hearst kidnapping, bank robberies and two murders. The prosecution claims the jury should hear about the group Olson allegedly joined, but her defense has accused them of trying to tarnish her with the misdeeds of others.

After her family and supporters were briefed on the morning meeting, one advocate, Hadassah Gilbert, wiped away tears and said, "Conspiracy is driving this case. And it's un-American." She declined to elaborate.

About a half dozen members of LAPD bomb squad were in court as was Jon Opsahl, whose mother Myrna was murdered by the SLA during a bank robbery.

Because of the hour-long meeting, a scheduled hearing into the legality of 1975 searches did not take place. The prosecution was ready to call former FBI agents and police officers to testify about searches of properties linked to the SLA. Olson's lawyers have argued that the searches were illegal and the evidence gained from them should be excluded from trial.

Most of the searches occurred after the arrest of Hearst, who joined the SLA after her abduction. On the news that the newspaper heiress and two SLA soldiers were arrested in September 1975, Olson fled. She spent 24 years as a fugitive, building a life as a doctor's wife, amateur actress and community activist in Minnesota. The FBI arrested her in 1999 as she was driving her minivan to teach English to new immigrants.