Britney Spears must be relieved that her misdemeanor trial for driving without a license has ended in a mistrial.
The foreman said in open court that the jury was deadlocked 10-2 in favor of finding Britney not guilty.
Judge James A. Steele said, “The jury is hopelessly deadlocked, and I declare this a mistrial” before dismissing the case after prosecutor Michael Amerian stated his desire not to retry Britney Spears.
Michael Amerian said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask for retrial.”
Britney Spears had been accused of driving without a California license, stemming from an August 2007 fender-bender when she hit a stationary vehicle in a car park in Los Angeles.
Jamie Spears, testified that Britney had a Louisiana license on the day in question, and that she considers Louisiana her permanent residence, and she plans to return there to live.
Britney Spears’ attorney, 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.”
Michael Flanagan added that he spoke with Jamie Spears, who was “ecstatic” the case was dropped.
Jury foreman Gary Moy, 45, a communications analyst (and one of two jurors who voted guilty), said at a press conference after the decision was announced, “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.”
Britney Spears was reportedly offered a year of probation and a $150 fine, or no probation and a $1,000 fine.
But if she was convicted Britney would have had a misdemeanor on her record, and she did not want that, according to her defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan, which is why the case went to trial.
Michael Flanagan reportedly said he worked so many hours working on the case that he stopped billing Britney Spears by the hour.
After the trial, Michael Flanagan joked that his fees to Britney Spears are “probably a world record” for a driver’s license case.
He said the amount ended up being the same as what he would charge on a vehicular manslaughter case, even though no one died, although he did not disclose an exact fee.
Michael Flanagan also claimed that prosecutor Michael Amerian pursued the case against Britney Spears purely for political reasons.
Michael Flanagian said, “The prosecutor wanted a little attention, he’s running for city attorney.”
However Michael Amerian said he filed his papers to run for public office in March, well after Britney Spears was charged.
He said, “We have never at any time treated this case differently because the defendant is Britney Spears.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r72HTrJ-pk[/youtube]
Good for Britney Spears for refusing a plea bargain, if she does as has been reported, intend to fight her ex-husband Kevin Federline for sole custody of their two young sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, she obviously knows the damage having a misdemeanor on her record could do to any future court case.
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and common.