(CNN) -- "Jurymen seldom convict a person they like, or acquit one that they dislike." -- Clarence Darrow



A moussed, tousled brown hairstyle is murder trial defendant Phil Spector's latest look.



Since April, the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector has been playing out in Los Angeles, California, oddly contrasting gruesome CSI details with the defendant's daily fashion emergency.



Jurors finally will go behind closed doors for deliberations at the end of the week.



Their impressions of Spector's over-the-top fashion statements and  nebbish-like demeanor could weigh as heavily, legal analysts say, as any of the conflicting expert testimony about ballistics, blood spatter and other forensic evidence.



Spector, a diminutive aging hipster who invented the "Wall of Sound" and worked with the Beatles and Ike and Tina Turner, is accused of second-degree murder. He allegedly shot Lana Clarkson, a B-movie actress-turned-House of Blues hostess whose film credits include "Barbarian Queen" and "Amazon Women on the Moon."



As the sun began to rise on February 3, 2003, police found her body slumped in a chair in the foyer of Spector's 8,500-square-foot Pyrenees-style castle, a Colt Cobra Special .38-caliber revolver at her feet.



The question the jury must answer is straightforward: Did Spector, 67, shoot Clarkson, 40, in the face after she spurned his romantic advances and tried to leave his home? Or did she shoot herself, either by accident or in suicidal despair over her flagging Hollywood career?



The jurors didn't hear directly from Spector. The most damaging testimony came from his Brazilian-born driver, who said the boss wandered out of the castle that morning and announced, "I think I killed somebody."



His dress and mannerisms at the defense table were impossible to ignore.



"Sometimes the most important thing about a defendant's court appearance is the defendant's appearance," Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom said.



"Looks count when it comes to a criminal trial," agreed Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "They can work for a defendant, and they can work against a defendant."



Levenson, who observes and analyzes high-profile trials, has written a scholarly article on the subject. She cites studies that show jurors are influenced by how attractive -- or unattractive -- a defendant is. Such impressions are not formally recognized as evidence in most courts, and jurors are rarely instructed on how to weigh them, she found.



Levenson concludes that jurors inevitably take cues from a defendant's courtroom demeanor, whether judges want them to or not. Demeanor makes the biggest impact when a defendant doesn't take the stand.



"We need to be realistic as to how we deal with the theater of the courtroom," Levenson concludes. "Demeanor evidence of non-testifying parties is the new frontier."



She suggests adding a jury instruction to weigh a defendant's demeanor like any other character evidence. It could prove to be a controversial idea.



Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's senior legal analyst, is comfortable with the current standard. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," he said. "Jurors can't help but look at a defendant. But turning it into a formal part of trial would be a mistake."



Levenson agreed to share an advance copy of her richly footnoted paper, which will be published in January's  Minnesota Law Journal. She cites several well-known cases in which jurors later said their impressions of the defendant influenced their verdicts:



Attorneys long ago learned how to manipulate nonverbal cues to communicate with juries. "Smart lawyers use it to their advantage," said Mark Geragos, a frequent guest on CNN's "Larry King Live."



The prominent Los Angeles criminal defense attorney has given makeovers to several of his clients, including Whitewater figure Susan McDougal, who favored white pantsuits in court and won acquittals at two trials.



Spector's courtroom appearance seems to be a misfire, said Geragos
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