LOS ANGELES — As jury deliberations got under way in Phil Spector's murder trial Monday, a judge issued a gag order against the music legend and his wife, saying he feared recent press interviews were designed to sway the panelists deciding his guilt.

The judge made the order just before the jury of nine men and three women began weighing a second-degree murder count against the pop producer in the 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. They spent four hours behind closed doors and are to resume their work Tuesday morning.

The gag order, which threatens the Spectors with jail if they speak to the media before a verdict is reached, led to a heated exchange between Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler and Rachelle Spector. From her seat in the spectator's gallery, the 26-year-old yelled protests at the judge.

"But I'm not a witness," she shouted at one point.

Fidler, his face reddening, repeatedly told her he would hold her in contempt if she pressed him.

Story continues

"I'm telling you, you are going to do nothing to affect this trial. If you do, there are going to be consequences," he told her.

She later apologized in a note to the judge.

Relatives of Clarkson are also covered by the gag order. The family has never spoken publicly.

The judge cited two interviews in his decision to prohibit the Spectors from speaking publicly. In an interview with Court TV Friday, Rachelle Spector insisted on her husband's innocence and complained that the media and the judge had already decided he was guilty.

On Sunday, an article purporting to be an interview with Spector appeared in Britain 's Sunday Mail. The story was filled with bombastic comments attributed to Spector, including the statement "the judge doesn't like me," and criticism of jurors, whom he described as "12 people who voted for George Bush."

The author, Vikram Jayanti, was in court Monday, seated with Spector's family.

Questioned about the story by Fidler, defense attorney Linda Kenney-Baden said the words were not Spector's and asserted that the defense believed the statements might have been planted to discredit the defendant.

"Mr. Spector absolutely trusts this jury that has given five months of their life," she said.

Fidler said he was not upset about the criticism of him, but was concerned that the interviews were an attempt to influence jurors. Panelists are forbidden from reading or watching coverage of the trial.

"This case is going to be decided on the facts," he said.

Before they were excused for deliberations, the judge asked jurors to raise their hands if they had seen any media coverage of the case over the weekend. None did.

In their first day in the jury room, the panel elected as foreman Juror 10, a civil engineer who lives near Spector's mansion, the scene of the alleged crime. The married father was known for assiduous notetaking during the trial.

The jury also asked to view the .38 caliber revolver that killed Clarkson. A court officer took the weapon and a box of rubber gloves into the jury room. She stayed with the panelists for about five minutes while they examined the Colt Cobra.

Spector, his wife, daughter and bodyguards departed the courthouse shortly after jurors began weighing his fate. The judge said Spector and his defense will have one hour's notice of a verdict to provide time to drive to the downtown courthouse.

Spector contends Clarkson, 40, shot herself in his foyer. Prosecutors say he killed her after she curtailed a sexual encounter.

A murder conviction carries a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, but Spector, 67, would face a minimum of 25 years behind bars if jurors find that he used a firearm.