Britney Getting a Bum Rap?

Lawyer needs Jamie's signature to move to dismiss license case, says "Britney is being treated differently"

By Natalie Finn Mar 27, 2008 4:37 AMTags

Britney Spears' attorney is trying his best to steer her out of trouble.  

Legal eagle Michael Flanagan tells E! News he's not planning to let the beleaguered singer cop a plea on a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid California license, saying it's who his client is and not what she did that's keeping this case on the docket. 

"Anyone can see this is not the case of the century. The fact is that Britney is being treated differently," he said. "This should be just treated as a fix-it ticket or an infraction." 

"Her mother, father, sister all have Louisiana licenses," Flanagan added. "It is a Louisiana family. In California, you have to get a license within 10 days if you are domiciled here. 

"But whether you are domiciled is a state of mind. She had a valid Louisiana license at the time of the accident without a mark on her record." 

Spears is scheduled to go to trial June 18, a court date her camp is looking to avoid. 

Flanagan has drafted a motion to have the case dismissed but, because it's Britney, he'll have to take at least one extra step before he files. 

The defendant needs to sign a declaration permitting him to move forward, but Flanagan figures he'll have to get the go-ahead from the 26-year-old divorcée's conservatorship, considering Britney has been ruled temporarily incapable of entering a plea on her own behalf. 

"It may be that Jamie or Lynne have to sign for her," the lawyer said. Lynne Spears, Britney's mom, is not part of the conservatorship, however, so it's dad Jamie Spears and his coconservator, attorney Andrew Wallet, whose signatures would be needed to seal the deal. 

Britney's vehicular troubles stem from her August 2007 run-in with a parked car that was captured ever-so-efficiently by the ubiquitous paparazzi. Although she eventually settled up with the car's owner, a complaint had already been filed, leading to the invalid license charge.

Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum