Britney Spears’ driving licence case declared a mistrial
Britney Spears‘ driving-without-a-valid-license case has been declared a mistrial after the jury became deadlocked.
The jury spent nearly three days deliberating about the case before Judge James A Steele called this mistrial this afternoon (local time).
Jury foreman Gary Moy explained to the court that the jury was locked 10-2 in the star’s favour but they were unable to change that because of a lack of information: “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 [also] felt their time was wasted.”
After the prosecution said they had no desire for a retrial, Britney’s lawyer Michael Flanagan said he considered the verdict “a victory”: “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 agreed with jurors that Britney’s celebrity had worked in her favour: “We put our best foot forward. It just goes to show you how difficult it is to convict a celebrity in Los Angeles.”
Had Britney been found guilty, she could have been sentenced to a maximum of six months in jail and a $1500 fine.
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