LOS ANGELES — Phil Spector has not ruled out taking the stand in his own defense, an attorney for the music legend indicated at his murder trial Wednesday.

The lawyer suggested Spector and his defense team were still mulling his possible testimony during a brief hearing concerning a convicted madam they had hoped to call as a witness.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler said Tuesday that the woman's testimony was inadmissible, but left open the possibility that under a certain unspecified condition, her account may become relevant.

On Wednesday, after summoning the madam, Jody "Babydol" Gibson, to court, he revealed the condition: Spector taking the stand.

A defense attorney, Roger Rosen, told the judge that the defense did not plan to call her and she should be freed from a gag order that applies to all witnesses and allowed to speak publicly about the case.

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"Are you saying that Mr. Spector is not going to testify?" Fidler pressed.

"I am not prepared to make that statement at this time," Rosen replied.

Although defendants frequently do not say whether they will testify until the close of their case, many courthouse observers have judged it unlikely that Spector would be a witness in his case.

He would have to account for statements to police officers after the 2003 shooting that are at odds with the physical evidence in the case, as well as the accusations of four former girlfriends who say he threatened them with guns.

Gibson claims the actress shot to death in Spector's foyer, Lana Clarkson, worked for her as an escort from 1992 to 1998.

The judge laid out his reasons for barring her testimony in a sealed ruling. He ordered her to court Wednesday to ensure that she understood his instruction not to speak publicly about the case.

Her attorney protested the order, saying Gibson's livelihood depended on speaking about her career as a Hollywood madam. He noted that she is promoting one book now and has a second, about her time behind bars, due for release later this year.

"To limit her from talking to the press would prohibit her from earning a living," Weiss said. "That is how she survives."

Gibson, a platinum blonde who wore a low-cut jacket, micro-mini skirt and stiletto heels to court, said she had talked about the case with media outlets since the judge's ruling because she thought there was no possibility she would testify.

"My objective was never to disrespect the court," she said.

The judge told her she could continue to promote her books, but said he was forbidding her from mentioning Clarkson.

"It would be nothing but an attempt to influence the jury," the judge said. Jurors are instructed not to read, watch or listen to media reports about Spector, but "the possibility exists they do," the judge said.

"If you want to sell your book, that is fine. But if you do it by discussing Lana Clarkson, you will be held in contempt of court," Fidler said.

Prosecutors have said Clarkson never worked for Gibson and that an address book she cites as corroboration is a forgery. Gibson denied those charges and said the government had possession of the book for years.

"This allegation is really insulting to the people," she said.

Spector, who rarely reacts to courtroom developments, was stone-faced during the discussion about Gibson and his possible testimony.

Jurors also heard from a defense blood-spatter expert Wednesday. James Pex, a retired police laboratory director from Oregon, said it was possible that the gunshot fired inside Clarkson's mouth could have propelled tiny drops of blood further than other types of gunshot wounds.

Pex co-authored an article in 1987 that said mist-like blood spatter travels two feet. But he said the study did not apply to the type of wound Clarkson suffered. He said experiments involving spray paint suggested droplets of the size found on Spector's jacket could travel seven feet.

Spector's lawyers contend he was across the room when Clarkson shot herself.

The 67-year-old faces 15 years to life if convicted of murder.

Two of his estranged adopted sons, Donte and Louis, were in the courtroom for Wednesday's proceedings.