Britney Spears case heads to trial
Enlarge imageBy Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jury selection for a Britney Spears driving charge began on Wednesday despite last minutes hopes of a plea bargain that would have avoided a full-scale trial for the pop singer.
Spears, 26, exercised her right to stay away from court as her attorney defended her against a charge of driving without a valid California licence.
Attorney J. Michael Flanagan has sought unsuccessfully to have the misdemeanour charge, filed in August 2007, thrown out.
But he told reporters that prosecutors offered Spears no leniency if she pleaded guilty to avoid a trial.
Flanagan has said the singer intends to fight the charge because she does not want any kind of criminal conviction, even a misdemeanour, on her record. If convicted, Spears could face a maximum of six months in jail but would more likely face a fine and probation, prosecutors said.
The case stems from an August 2007 incident in which Spears hit another car in a Los Angeles parking lot while being pursued by paparazzi. That part of the case was settled with the driver out of court a year ago.
But the singer was driving with a licence from her home state of Louisiana. She has since got her California licence.
"Even if she pleads guilty it's a 'fix-it ticket,'" Flanagan said. "And she's not guilty."
.....continued belowAdvertisement starts
Advertisement ends
Prosecutors have said that Spears, as a resident of California, should have had a driver's licence from the state at the time of the collision.
"We are treating this case like any other misdemeanour case," said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's office.
Flanagan acknowledged that Spears lives in California, but he said that he will argue in court that she could use a Louisiana licence because her "domicile" is not in the state.
"You can have more than one residence, you can only have one domicile," Flanagan said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant)
By Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jury selection for a Britney Spears driving charge began on Wednesday despite last minutes hopes of a plea bargain that would have avoided a full-scale trial for the pop singer.
Spears, 26, exercised her right to stay away from court as her attorney defended her against a charge of driving without a valid California licence.
Attorney J. Michael Flanagan has sought unsuccessfully to have the misdemeanour charge, filed in August 2007, thrown out.
But he told reporters that prosecutors offered Spears no leniency if she pleaded guilty to avoid a trial.
Flanagan has said the singer intends to fight the charge because she does not want any kind of criminal conviction, even a misdemeanour, on her record. If convicted, Spears could face a maximum of six months in jail but would more likely face a fine and probation, prosecutors said.
The case stems from an August 2007 incident in which Spears hit another car in a Los Angeles parking lot while being pursued by paparazzi. That part of the case was settled with the driver out of court a year ago.
But the singer was driving with a licence from her home state of Louisiana. She has since got her California licence.
"Even if she pleads guilty it's a 'fix-it ticket,'" Flanagan said. "And she's not guilty."
Prosecutors have said that Spears, as a resident of California, should have had a driver's licence from the state at the time of the collision.
"We are treating this case like any other misdemeanour case," said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's office.
Flanagan acknowledged that Spears lives in California, but he said that he will argue in court that she could use a Louisiana licence because her "domicile" is not in the state.
"You can have more than one residence, you can only have one domicile," Flanagan said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant)
© 2008 Reuters Click for restrictions
Related Links
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
Latest Headlines
- Britney Spears case heads to trial
- Madonna and Guy Ritchie to divorce
- David Duchovny and Tea Leoni separate
- Migraine-hit Janet Jackson to resume U.S. tour
- U.S. comedian Jay Leno sued over antique car
- "Desperate Housewives" actor injured in crash
- Paramount cuts films in "volatile" economy
- London Film Festival opens
- Mark Wahlberg unleashes "Payne" in new film
- Author Pamuk revels in smell of books and pain of love
Page Footer
Access keys
You will need to use different key combinations in order to use access keys depending on your internet browser, find out which on our accessibility page.
- (0) Navigate to Accessibility page.
- (1) Navigate to Home page.
- (2) Navigate to My email.
- (3) Navigate to My Account.
- (4) Navigate to Site Map page.
- (5) Navigate to Contact us page.
- (6) Navigate to Members channel.
- (7) Navigate to Services channel.
- (8) Navigate to News & Info channel.
- (9) Navigate to Entertainment channel.
- ([) Skip down to the Primary navigation block.
- (]) Skip down to the more links within this section block.
- (=) Bypass all navigation and jump to the content.
