- Posted by: Spicy
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- Oct 21, 2008
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- One Smack Talker
Britney Spears’ driving without a license traffic case has been dismissed after the judge declared a mistrial.
The case stems from a fender bender in August 2007 in which it was discovered that the star was driving without a valid California license at the time.
The jury was deadlocked 10-2, in favor of Spears’ innocence. It took three days for the jury to deliberate.
Jamie Spears, her father, testified that his daughter was innocent of the charges because she had a valid license in her home state of Louisiana at the time and that she considers Louisiana her permanent residence.
After today’s trial, Britney’s lawyer, Michael Flanagan, said,
“Today’s outcome shows my client did nothing wrong. I consider this a victory. Britney was vindicated in that she took on a system that attempted to make an example of her celebrity.”
Prosecutor Michael Amerian says there are no plans for a retrial. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask for one,” he said in court. Outside the courtroom he later stated,
“It just goes to show you how difficult it is to convict a celebrity in Los Angeles.
At a press conference after the decision, jury foreman Gary Moy, 45, a communications analyst (who voted guilty), said, “We felt deadlocked from the beginning, there were lots of questions about lack of evidence, whether Spears had a Louisiana license or not, what the definition of residency was. We felt we were never given all the facts in the case. Some jurors felt their time was wasted.”
He added that people have a tendency to “identify with celebrities, and I feel some of the jurors inserted their personal feelings.”
[People]
hey, let’s just listen to her music