Britney Spears pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that will allow her to avoid jail time after prosecutors accused her of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and drugs in Southern California.
The 44-year-old pop star did not appear in Ventura County court but on her behalf, her lawyer, Michael A Goldstein, agreed to plead to what’s commonly called a “wet reckless”.
That allows her to be sentenced to a year of probation, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines.
The plea offer is standard for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road, and a low blood-alcohol level, the county district attorney’s office said.
It is especially common for defendants who have shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, as Spears did when she voluntarily checked into a substance abuse treatment centre in April.
During Monday’s hearing, Spears received summary probation, which is informal and does not involve mandatory meetings with a parole officer. She temporary yielded her Fourth Amendment search and seizure rights if she is pulled over, meaning she must automatically yield to searches and sobriety tests. At her lawyer’s request, the judge ruled this would not apply to her home.
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said after the hearing that Spears had taken “full responsibility,” but he emphasised that DUI is a “serious crime” and said it was essential that she follow the requirements agreed to in court, which include continued substance abuse treatment, weekly visits with a therapist and monthly visits with a psychiatrist.
“We do not want Miss Spears to reoffend,” Mr Nasarenko said.
She was charged Thursday with one misdemeanour DUI count, which meant she was not required to appear in court for her arraignment.
But her representatives had not said whether she would appear, and the hearing drew an unusually heavy news media turnout for Ventura, a seaside city of about 110,000 people roughly 70 miles (113 kilometres) northwest of downtown LA.
The singer has a home in Ventura County near where she was arrested on March 4.
A representative at the time called her actions inexcusable and said the arrest would ideally lead to overdue change in her life.
Spears and her representatives have not commented since she was charged.
She was pulled over for driving her black BMW quickly and erratically on US 101, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested and was taken to jail, the CHP said.
Authorities said in the criminal complaint that Spears had alcohol and drugs in her system, but they did not specify which drugs or list her blood alcohol content.
