Jury Selection Begins In Britney Spears’ Driver’s License Case

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FIRST PUBLISHED: October 15, 2008 2:05 PM EDT
LAST UPDATED: October 15, 2008 6:59 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Britney, get ready to meet your peers.

Britney Spears’ legal team headed to court on Wednesday, as jury selection began in the pop star’s driver’s license case.

Because the single charge of driving without a license is a misdemeanor, Britney will not be required to appear in court during the trial.

Attorneys for both sides were present in the Van Nuys courthouse early Wednesday.

The judge met with all sides behind closed doors for nearly an hour.
Shortly after noon, 30 potential jurors entered the courtroom. The judge then asked the group, which will be whittled down to 12, if any of the prospective jurors “recognized anyone in the courtroom.”

A female juror raised her hand and told the judge she “deals with Britney’s manager,” yet the woman was not dismissed as a potential juror.

Later in the day, Britney’s attorney, Michael Flanagan, told Access he expects jury selection to take three days, but the trial itself to only last a few hours.

Among the people Flanagan expects to call in the case include a police office from the scene, a paparazzi photographer and a DMV employee..

The driving without a license charge stems from an August 2007 incident, in which the starlet was videotaped as she bumped another vehicle while parking her Mercedes-Benz. She left — without leaving a note — after looking over the damage to her car from the fender-bender.

The owner of the other vehicle later filed a police report and Britney was charged a month later with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a valid license.

The hit-and-run charges were dismissed in October 2007 after Spears paid an undisclosed sum to the owner.

Last week, Flanagan, rejected a plea deal, which would’ve carried a penalty of a $150 fine and 12 months probation for the singer.

“A misdemeanor is a criminal offense and I will not plead to one,” Flanagan told Access Hollywood. “This [case] is a tremendous waste of time.”

As a result, Flanagan instead opted for a jury trial, which began today.

Flanagan has maintained that Britney was driving with a valid Louisiana license at the time, because she owns homes in that state.

However, prosecutors suggest because she has lived in California for quite some time, Britney was legally required to have California license, which she has since obtained.

“The max you could get is six months in jail, but I’ve never seen it,” Flanagan said after last week’s hearing.

According to People, Britney now faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Copyright 2009 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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