Pool/Getty ImagesFor Chris Brown, the best defense is proving wrongdoing at the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department.
As promised last month, Brown's attorney Mark Geragos is beginning to make his play for the dismissal of the double felony assault case against the R&B star, filing a request to obtain the records of the LAPD's internal investigation into how exactly the police photo of a battered Rihanna was leaked online.
Geragos claims that misconduct on behalf of the police department led to the illegal leak and that the egregious nature of the alleged transgression should result in the case's swift dismissal.
"The leaks can form the basis for a motion to dismiss the case in regards to outrageous governmental misconduct," he told E! News.
In addition to the internal investigation records, Geragos is also seeking the personnel and other investigative records containing the statements given by police witnesses on the case. According to a spokesperson for the LAPD, there are no new updates to their ongoing investigation.
At particular issue for Geragos is whether or not a police officer sold the photo to TMZ, the website on which it first appeared, despite Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, filing for and being granted a Request for Confidentiality of Information relating to the Feb. 8 incident.
"I'm informed and believe that on or about Feb. 19, 2009, a photograph taken by the LAPD depicting physical injuries on Ms. Fenty's person was illegally leaked to the media," Geragos said in the court papers obtained by RadarOnline.com. "Specifically, I am informed and believe that this highly prejudicial photograph was sold by an LAPD officer to the entertainment website, TMZ.
"The photograph was immediately viewed by hundreds of thousands of viewers and was displayed on every news channel for several weeks...The purpose of the leak was necessarily for profit and to vilify Mr. Brown and poison the potential jury pool."
Geragos continues to argue in his filing that if the investigation proves misconduct, then their entire case against Brown should be discredited, as the leak would "constitute demonstratable bias on the part of the involved officers."
"The Court should not believe any or all of their testimony. If the Court does not believe these statements, I believe there is a reasonable likelihood that the case will be dismissed at the preliminary hearing."
The next preliminary hearing for the case is scheduled for May 28. Brown has pleaded not guilty to both felony counts.
—Additional reporting by Whitney English
(Originally published on May 7, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. PT)
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