Pop wreck Britney Spears escaped trial today over driving without a license after a judge said she was not fit to retain her own counsel in the case. Spears was charged after a fender-bender accident last August was caught on video by the ever-present paparazzi who trail her.
The Toxic singer had been set to go to trial today in Van Nuys Superior Court but with Spears and her estate still in conservatorship, the judge postponed the trial. He said that under the rules of the conservatorship Spears was 'not qualified to retain legal agreements or counsel'.
The case has now been delayed until March 20 however a lawyer acting on behalf of Spears, Michael Flanigan, told reporters outside the court that Spears now has a valid California driving licence and that he hoped the trial would not need to go ahead on that date.
Last October, Spears' attorney reached a financial settlement with the owner of the Mercedes-Benz she hit, resulting in the dismissal of a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge.
Spears' father, Jamie, and attorney Andrew Wallet were given temporary conservatorship over the 26-year-old singer's estate to manage her affairs in the wake of her recent involuntary stay in UCLA Medical Center's psychiatric ward.
According to court papers, a bid to move that conservatorship case out of Superior Court and into federal court appeared to be in trouble.
US District Judge Philip Gutierrez, in court papers said a man acting as Spears' attorney has not shown any claims arising under federal law.
The judge also noted that attorney Jon Eardley failed to attach a copy of all the legal documents filed in the state court case when he sought to move the matter to federal court last week.
Eardley filed a complaint February 14 on Spears' behalf in US District Court in downtown Los Angeles, claiming that the temporary conservatorship awarded to Spears' father, Jamie, violated his client's civil rights.
Gutierrez ordered Eardley to show cause in writing no later than February 29 why the action should be in federal court.
Last week, Jamie Spears' conservatorship of his daughter was extended to March 10 by Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz.
A Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner, meanwhile, refused yesterday to give Spears the right to visit with her two sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.
By Nicola Pittam, Feb 20 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy
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