Oct 8, 2008 4:40 pm US/Pacific
Oops, Britney May Go To Trial After All
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Singer Britney Spears serves as Grand Marshal during the NASCAR Winston Cup Pepsi 400 July 7, 2001 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida.
Donald Miralle/Getty Images
Pop singer Britney Spears would rather go on trial for a misdemeanor charge of driving without a license than agree to a plea deal that would put a criminal conviction on her record, her attorney said today.
During a court hearing in Van Nuys, Spears' attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, said the 26-year-old singer doesn't want any kind of criminal
conviction, even a misdemeanor, on her record. Flanagan rejected a proposed plea bargain that would have her pay a $150 fine and spend one year on probation.
He said Spears should be able to simply pay a fine and show the violation has been corrected. Trial is scheduled for Oct. 15. The charge stems from an Aug. 6, 2007, parking lot fender-bender that was caught on tape and in pictures by the various photographers who trail the singer whenever she ventures out in public.
A misdemeanor charge of hit-and-run was dismissed last October as a
result of a financial settlement with the owner of the silver Mercedes-Benz
that Spears hit in a parking lot in the 12800 block of Ventura Boulevard.
On Tuesday, a three judge panel of the Los Angeles Superior Court rejected motions by Flanagan asking that the singer's case be put on hold and the misdemeanor charge be thrown out. The judges rejected the motions in a one- page ruling that did not explain why they ruled as they did.
In court papers filed Sept. 29, Flanagan had argued that Spears, as the
subject of a temporary conservatorship, is "currently unable to participate
meaningfully in this matter."
He also contended that a Van Nuys Superior Court judge erred in denying
the defense's motion to dismiss the case, and urged a civil court judge to
vacate that order and grant the motion.
"Petitioner at all times had a valid Louisiana driver's license. After the complaint was filed against petitioner, she immediately obtained a valid
California driver's license," Flanagan wrote in the court papers.
Spears' attorney contended that it would be "a waste of time and resources" to force "an unnecessary trial," and that the entertainer
shouldn't be subject to litigation if she has submitted proof in a timely fashion of correcting any alleged violation.
Los Angeles city prosecutors argued in court papers opposing the dismissal of the charge that "there is evidence of her persistent neglect in
failing to obtain a driver's license for almost 15 months despite her legal
obligation to do so."
The prosecutors noted that Spears -- based on her own prior sworn statements -- has been a resident of California since at least May 7, 2006, and was "legally obligated to obtain a California driver's license since at least May 17, 2006."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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