Celebrity Court

Today, Monday, May 4, 2009 the Supreme Court has ordered a re-examination of the “Superbowl 2004 Wardrobe Malfunction” case which involved singer Janet Jackson, the case had previously been thrown out of a lower court.

Janet Jackson’s breast was accidently exposed during her 2004 Superbowl halftime performance with Justin Timberlake due to a wardrobe malfunction. Superbowl viewers complained of indecency and Janet Jackson’s brief breast exposure topped news headlines for weeks.

Soon after the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction incident Congress increased the limit on indecency fines to up to $325,000 per violation per network.

What I find funny is that Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed for only seconds on television but the “viewer outrage” and “lawsuit” keep bringing the incident back into the headlines. Every time the story is featured on T.V. or the Internet it sparks the interest of millions of Internet users who then search for the video clip of Janet Jackson’s breast exposed at the 2004 Superbowl.

In my opinion much less people would have viewed the “Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction incident” if the whole thing were just simply overlooked at the time. People who have never even watched a Superbowl have gone out of their way to see the video clip that’s been plastered all over the news since 2004.

But since their were over half a million viewer complaints it looks like their are many people who are much more easily offended than myself.

Janet Jackson appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and spoke about her 2004 Superbowl halftime wardrobe malfunction:

You can read the legal details of this “wardrobe malfunction” case - FCC v. CBS Corp. (08-653) online.

19-year old Chris Brown, one of the hottest R&B singers in the world, is facing serious allegations of an assault on a female and missed his chance to perform at the 51st Grammy Awards because he was wanted by authorities. The evening of Sunday, February 8, 2009 Brown turned himself into police with the help of his celebrity lawyer. The star was arrested on one count of suspicion of making felony criminal threats and released when he posted $50,000 bail.

Police have stated that an “unidentified female” alleged that Chris Brown assaulted her shortly before 12:30 a.m. Sunday after a heated argument that took place in the car. Someone heard a female screaming and called 911. When the police arrived Chris Brown had already left.

Chris Brown’s girlfriend Rihanna canceled her scheduled Grammy Awards appearance and an unidentified source told the media they saw her face battered and bruised. If it isn’t obvious enough that the “unidentified female” is Rihanna, celebrity gossip site TMZ has insider information that has confirmed that Rihanna was indeed the victim of Chris Brown’s violent episode.

Police are now investigating Chris Brown on domestic violence and felony battery allegations. Rihanna has had to cancel her upcoming concert in Malaysia. Neither Rihanna or Chris Brown have made any public statements regarding the alleged assault or Grammy Awards Show cancellations. All media reports are based on witness statements and leaked insider information. Chris Brown’s huge fan base is still holding out hope that there is another side to this story and that somehow Brown will be found innocent. But right now things aren’t looking too hopeful for the young musician.

22-year-old actor Shia LaBeouf had his driver’s license suspended on January 17, 2009. On July 27, 2008 LaBeouf was involved in a car crash which injured his hand. Authorities on the scene believed that the “Disturbia” star was intoxicated. LaBeouf refused to comply with a chemical test and was arrested but did not face DUI charges due to insufficient evidence.

Now half a year later the star is losing his driver’s licence for the length of one year. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to Shia LaBeouf, whenever a driver refuses a blood alcohol test they automatically face a suspended license.

This isn’t the first time Shia LaBeouf has had a run in with the law. In 2007 he was arrested for criminal trespassing in a Walgreens store. The criminal charges were later dropped. In 2008 an arrest warrant was issued for LaBeouf when he failed to appear at a court hearing regarding a ticket for unlawful smoking. Those charges were also later dismissed and he paid a $500.00 fine.

It seems like this hot actor just can’t catch a break. I mean who could believe that he’d actually get ticketed over a smoking violation let alone almost arrested? He may be unlucky with the law but he is lucky when it comes to his career. Last year Shia LaBeouf starred in hit movies “Eagle Eye” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and in 2009 he’s starring in his second Transformers film “Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen” and the romantic movie “New York, I Love You.”

Jamie Spears, father to Britney Spears, has been name her temporary conservator by a Los Angeles Court.  This means that daddy will have control over Britney’s hospitalization, her finances, and who can visit her.

That last item has already apparently had an effect on “manager” and “friend” Sam Lufti, who many had speculated was bad news for Brit Brit.  The court granted a restraining order which means that Sam will no longer be able to sponge off Britney and use her for his financial gain and/or fame pursuits.

Britney remains at this hour in a hospital under psychiatric watch.  Although many had speculated that she had a drug or alcohol problem, it appears all along it was a mental health problem.  Rumors have ranged from bipolar to multiple personality disorder to postpartum psychosis.  Whatever the diagnosis, I think keep the leeches away from her is an excellent idea.  I am just not sure that Jamie Spears is not one of them.

Daddy Spears has had his own problems in the past and I just hope that he is stepping up to the plate because he cares for his daughter and her health and not for any ulterior motives.  I am curious, also, why he was given control and not Britney’s mom (they are divorced).  Did they decide between them who would get the gig?  Did the judge decide? Did the fact that Mama Spears tried to capitalize off of her daughter in the past play a role? These are all things that will be revealed in time, I would imagine.

Source

Britney Spears, Sam Lufti, Jamie Spears, Lynne Spears

While most of the country was sleeping, or paying attention to more important news like the results of the Iowa Caucus, Britney Spears was busy getting herself into a whole heap of more trouble.

According to reports, Spears was supposed to hand over her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline’s bodyguards, per their custody arrangement. She refused and police were called.

What happened when the police arrived is still a bit foggy. We know that Federline’s lawyer showed up, presumably with a copy of the court order and the police determined that it was indeed Federline’s time to have the kids. Following this, the police called an ambulance and Britney was sent to the hospital for an evaluation. She was behaving oddly, likely due to being under the influence of drugs, and she will have to have a psychiatric evaluation.

Even less clear is why, reportedly, one of the kids, Jayden James, went to the hospital in a second ambulance. Was he injured? Sick? Kevin Federline and the other child were also seen at the hospital.

Britney likely had a stressful day, after being deposed for all of fourteen minutes by Federline’s lawyer. This is the deposition that she has already missed twice. When she showed up late, they only had 14 minutes to question her.

No word on how long Britney will be at the hospital.  If they determine that she is a danger to herself or others, she might be staying awhile. This whole situation has really gone beyond mere amusement or train wreck watching and has collapsed into what reminds me of an episode of Intervention. Sad really doesn’t even begin to describe the whole situation.  It seems pointless to even hope for a good resolution for this whole thing, where it is clear that it has already damaged so many.

Sources: People magazine, Perez Hilton

Photo Source: TMZ

Britney Spears, Jayden James Federline, Kevin Federline

Although I cannot say that I am surprised, Britney Spears failed to appear for a deposition in her child custody case. Expected to take place yesterday, Britney did not show up because of “high level of anxiety.”

First of all, everyone is nervous when they have to give a deposition or testimony in a court case. I am sure that everyone who has to testify about something personal, private, and probably embarrassing gets very anxious about their testimony. By why on the earth would she think that she could skip it? It is just a case of her being used to always getting her way and not having to follow “regular people” rules.

Have you watched paparazzi video of her lately? The paparazzi open doors for her, pump her gas, give her directions, all pretending to help her in exchange for video and photographs of her. When you have those kinds of people around you, not to mention all the enablers in her personal life, it is no wonder she thinks that she can skip a deposition because of anxiety. This is, of course, the same woman who skipped court previously because she overslept.

I am sure that most people would love to skip work or jury duty or something else in their life because they feel anxious about it.  Most people, however, suck it up and get it done.  Now if she is in fact suffering from a medical condition, I am sure that it is not being aided by her drinking, drug use, and late night activities.  You can’t cause yourself trouble and then use it as an excuse to not show up and do what you are supposed to do.

Of course she will be given another chance and the deposition will be rescheduled.  Although there are reports that she will be cited for contempt of court if she fails to show up again, I doubt that would happen.  She has a way of manipulating everyone it seems.

Britney Spears, Kevin Federline

According to TMZ, the court has ordered that Britney Spears shall not receive visitation with her two sons until she fully complies with all of the court orders in her ongoing custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

The order from the commissioner stated only, “Petitioner’s visitation with the minor children is suspended pending Petitioner’s compliance with the court order.” TMZ is reporting that emergency hearing, called by Kevin Federline’s attorney Mark Kaplan, specifically addressed the issue that Britney had not given her contact information to the people in charge of conducting her random drug tests. Without that contact information, the testing cannot be coordinated.

This seems like such a simple thing to do: give your information to the drug testing people. It is either a case of Britney not caring or of her simply being too out of it to understand the simple tasks that she must complete. The judge does seem to be a little harsh, though, in suspending her visitation over this. My guess is that there is something more to the ruling. He likely thinks that she intentionally did not give her contact information and is evading drug tests. That is certainly more serious than forgetting to give contact information.

It seems like they are in court every week for this custody battle and they will, in fact, be back in court next week on October 26th. Both Britney and Kevin were actually ordered to appear in person at that court date. Let’s hope Britney doesn’t oversleep again and makes it to court on time.

Britney Spears, child custody, Kevin Federline

Britney Spears finally showed up to court yesterday regarding the custody battle for her two sons. She was expected to arrive in the morning, but did not get to court until late afternoon. This despite the fact that the hearing was called by her and her attorneys in order to improve her visitation rights.

Despite what is being called “apalling” testimony by Britney Spears in court on Thursday, she has been granted overnight visitation with her sons. The visitation will still remain supervised, however, as Britney did not get all of the demands that she had requested.

According to TMZ, Britney’s testimony lasted approximately forty minutes and during that time she was sarcastic and rude toward the judge. Her testimony was allegedly so bad that lawyers for Kevin Federline sat quietly throughout it and did not feel the need to object to anything that was said.

I really wish that I could a transcript of the hearing in order read what she actually said. However, it can be difficult to discern from a transcript someone’s tone or demeanor. It is frustrating to only have TMZ’s interpretation of how she acted, without anything to rebut it.

Obviously it had to be better than “appalling” if the judge actually at least partly sided with her. If she were really condescending and rude, I do not think she would be getting overnight visitation with her children. Hopefully Britney will have the sense to keep her visitation behind closed doors and stop parading the kids in front of the paparazzi.

This is certainly not the end of the Britney-Kevin custody battle and we will continue to bring you updates as the they become available.

EDITED TO ADD: Britney is reportedly headed to court now, albeit several hours too late. Will report on what happened as soon as information becomes available.

Britney Spears had her attorney request an emergency court hearing for today in order to revisit the issue of visitation in her ongoing custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline. Britney wanted to obtain more visitation and to try to get the court to allow her unsupervised and overnights visits with her two sons.

Despite the fact that Britney was the one that called for the hearing, she did not show up to court. Reports are circulating that she overslept after taking a sleeping pill for insomnia the night before. You would think that for something so important she would have set five alarms and had one of her “people” wake her up in time for the hearing. Unless she is completely passed out and unable to be roused? How can she really expect the judge to take her seriously when she cannot even be bothered to show up to court?

In Britney’s absence, the judge rejected her petition for extended visitation, but ordered the attorneys for both sides to work out the issue. The attorneys spent time today at the courthouse trying to reach a decision, but the parties have since left the courthouse.

Typically in a child custody case, for the sake of the children, the court is often hesitant to continue to make changes to the custody and visitation orders. The children need stability in their lives and the constant change is not good for them. It is different in situations like this case, though, where the custody situation seems temporary and will probably change back to joint custody if Britney gets her act together. The weekly trips to court, though, are not the way to go. Britney needs to take a month and get herself together so that there will be plenty of positive things to show the judge.

Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, child custody

According to TMZ, Britney Spears reportedly took, and passed, a drug test over the weekend. The drug and alcohol screenings are part of the judge’s order in her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Britney has also been reportedly meeting with her parenting coach in order to better her parenting skills. She is allowed visitation with her two sons, but Kevin retains full custody.

The parties will next appear in court on October 25th and Britney has to appear in court or she could face contempt charges from the judge, as it would violate his court order.

Hopefully this is the start of Britney turning things around.  Perhaps she really does want to get her children back and is starting to see the error of her ways.

At the latest court hearing the in the Britney Spears/Kevin Federline custody battle yesterday, the judge ordered Britney to appear at the next court hearing on October 26. Britney was not in court yesterday, allowing her attorney to appear on her behalf.

After the three hour court hearing the judge also ordered that Kevin will keep custody of the children, but that Britney can have visitation with her two sons.

What I do not understand is why Britney would fail to show up to court. If I were the judge that would show me that she was not invested in the proceedings and did not have a strong interest in getting her children back. Britney certainly did not avoid court because she did not want to face the media because she has been seen gallivanting all over town with the paparazzi following her. In fact, inside the courthouse may be the one place that she could go and not be photographed. Maybe that is why she hasn’t gone to court: she doesn’t want to be out of the public eye for even a few hours.

There was a report yesterday that Britney had re-entered a rehabilitation facility in order to get her children back, but that rumor was found to be untrue. I do not think that Britney is in the head space right now to be contemplating rehab. She is too busy going out and partying to worry about her own welfare, or that of her children. I think that the kids are in good hands with Kevin for now.

Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, child custody

Britney Spears has lost custody of her children. Judge Scott Gordon of the Los Angeles County Superior Court issued an order today granting full custody to Kevin Federline, effective this Wednesday at noon.

The parties were just in court about weeks ago and the judge at that time ordered a 50/50 custody arrangement and ordered Britney Spears to attend parenting classes and to take random drug tests.

The judge did not give the reason for today’s ruling, giving custody to Kevin, but there are several possible reasons. Britney may have failed a drug or alcohol test. The judge could be reacting to Kevin’s lawyer’s proclamation that Britney has been driving her car, with the children present, without a valid California license, which could put them in danger.

Although this new order is obviously decimating to Britney, it is probably what is in the best interest of the children, which is the standard used in family court. Since the judge’s order for Britney to get her act together, she has not spent quiet time with her children, but rather has been seen taking them all over town and subjecting them to the paparazzi.

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While certainly not the most serious crime, Britney Spears is in trouble with the law. Spears was charged with hit-and-run following a minor car collision in a parking lot. The problem for Spears is that the whole thing was caught of video by a paparazzi and has been airing on the internet. The victim filed a police report, probably after being told that Spears was the one who hit her car. As a result, charges were filed by the city attorney.

The charges, which also include driving without a valid California license, carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, but I really doubt that Britney would get more than a fine in this case.

For a video of the “crash,” visit CelebTV. The damage to the car does not look that extensive. In the video, Britney seemed only concerned with the condition of her own car. CelebTV also has an interview with the victim.

Britney Spears, Hit and run, vehicle offenses, celebtv

Although Britney Spears has maintained joint custody of her two young sons with Kevin Federline, she is going to need to do some work if she wants it to stay that way.

The judge at the center of the custody dispute made findings that Britney has abused both drugs and alcohol. As part the custody agreement, she is going to have to submit to drug and alcohol testing, as well as attend parenting classes.

Earlier this week, a former bodyguard submitted an affidavit that revealed that he saw Britney abuse drugs and alcohol. That affidavit was not challenged.

The standard for child custody cases is what is in the best interest of the children. Certainly it would be best for the boys to have both their mother and their father in their lives. However, it is also in their best interest to have a sober mother who can properly care for them.

Hopefully the judge will keep a close eye on Britney’s progress and ensure that she is doing what is best for her children.

Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, child custody