britney off the hook on driving charges

Mistrial declared after jurors fail to reach a verdict

The judge in the Britney Spears hit and run case has dismissed all charges against the singer after a week of hearing arguments from both sides failed to unite the jury as to whether she was guilty of driving without a valid California licence when she hit a parked car in August 2007 and drove off without leaving a note.

The charges were only brought against Spears when video footage of the accident surfaced and could have led to probation or a simple $1000 fine were it not for her desire to avoid a criminal record, which drove the case to court. Britney herself did not appear in court; instead, her father Jamie took the witness stand on her behalf, arguing that his daughter possessed a valid Louisiana licence that proved her not guilty. Even after a fifth round of voting, two of the 12 jurors would not agree that Spears should be acquitted and a deadlock was declared.

“It just goes to show, I think, how difficult it is to convict any celebrity of a crime here in Los Angeles,” said prosecuting attorney Michael Amerian. “For whatever reason, jurors are reluctant to do that and I think history shows that.” He added that he did not intend to pursue the matter any further. Britney’s dad was said to be “ecstatic” with the result, which came in the same week as new single ‘Womanizer’ returned Spears to the top of the US charts for the first time since her debut single ‘…Baby One More Time’ in 1998.

Britney’s sixth album Circus is due for release on December 1st, the day before her 27th birthday.

Alan Pedder

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