Britney Prosecution Rests; Lawyer Says Other LA Is Her Home

Prosecution calls one witness from the DMV and rests its case, calling the popster's invalid license charge "very straightforward"

Britney Spears hasn't been in court but, other than a few disparaging remarks made by potential jurors, she hasn't missed much.

Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Michael Amerian rested his case Thursday after calling exactly one witness to the stand—an investigator from the Department of Motor Vehicles who testified that the oft-embattled pop star had not applied for a California driver's license as of Aug. 14, 2007.

Meaning, eight days after the paparazzi spied her bumping into a parked car in Studio City, Calif., and then leaving the scene after quickly checking for damages, she was sans state license.

The California DMV requires that people who are planning to drive their Mercedes around apply for a license within 10 days of either establishing residency or becoming employed in the state.

"This case is very straightforward," Amerian said in his brief opening statement. He also entered only one document into evidence, a printout proving that Spears didn't have the license in question at the time of the accident.

Defense attorney Michael Flanagan, who fought hard to have the charge thrown out (calling it a ticket-worthy offense and nothing more) and then rejected a proffered plea deal, then told the eight-woman, four-man jury that, Yes, Spears was "residing" in California—"but 'residency' has a different definition."

In fact, his client considers Louisiana to be her permanent home and has plans to return as soon as possible, Flanagan continued, but a "fairly unamicable custody dispute" has kept her in L.A. Although Spears has been house-hunting in Southern California in recent months, Flanagan says she is in the midst of building a new home in the Bayou State.

Spears, who has always had a valid Louisiana license, also applied for a California license at one point before her Aug. 6, 2007, parking lot faux pas and the DMV was unable to take her picture at the time; therefore, the paperwork was never completed, Flanagan said.

As for his famous client, the attorney said that the "Womanizer" chanteuse most likely won't take the stand, although that decision isn't final.

The 26-year-old mother of two is technically facing jail time if convicted, but it's an unlikely prospect considering she has no criminal record. The rejected plea deal would have saddled her with a year of probation and a $150 fine.