A judge wants to make sure that Chris Brown has plenty of labor days ahead of him.
The fallen R&B star's sentencing on an assault rap was postponed until Aug. 27 while the terms of his sentence are worked out between authorities in California and Brown's home state of Virginia, where he's hoping to serve the six months of community labor he was slapped with for attacking Rihanna.
Brown, who pleaded guilty to felony assault in June, was expected to be formally sentenced today to five years' probation, 180 days of labor and an anti-domestic-violence program (which he has already been ordered to complete in Los Angeles).
But the judge really wants to make sure Brown sweats out his sentence—something Virginia officials haven't been able to guarantee yet—hence the delay.
"I did not favor community service, I wanted it to be community labor," L.A. Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg reiterated, suggesting Brown should be doing such chores as roadside trash collection instead of lecturing school kids.
With that still up in the air, nothing much changed today for Brown, who, clad in a gray suit over a light-pink shirt, arrived at the Clara Shortridge Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles at 2:12 p.m., accompanied by defense attorney Mark Geragos.
Rihanna, who was granted a last-moment reprieve from testifying when Brown cut a deal with prosecutors, was not expected at today's hearing and indeed didn't show. Her lawyer, Donald Etra, and Geragos engaged in a brief whispered conversation before taking their seats.
By copping a plea, Brown avoided jail time, and a second felony count of making criminal threats was dismissed.
Not that probation and community labor is going to be any walk in the park.
Brown's legal camp has requested that the singer be allowed to fulfill the terms of his community service in his home state. For that to happen, authorities there would have to reach an agreement with California officials, according to Larry Traylor, communications director for the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Corrections.
"California Probation and Parole would contact us regarding supervision, we would investigate a possible home plan for Brown, just as we would for any other offender from another state," Traylor told E! News. "We would then report back to California whether we are in a position to accept supervision under those conditions."
But if Brown ends up laboring in his hometown of Tappahannock, in Essex County, Schnegg will get her wish—Brown could be tasked with anything from picking up trash, washing cop cars and painting over graffiti to working at the local sheriff's office or public library.
The fact that Brown was rung up on a domestic violence charge will not play a role in where he is assigned.
"If we have a sex offender, then we obviously wouldn't have them working in the public schools," Essex County Parole Officer Heather Fletcher told E! "But otherwise, it's really the same for everyone."
Placed on the back burner, meanwhile, was Etra's request to have the order of protection currently in place against Brown reduced to level one, meaning he would no longer have to stay 50 yards away from Rihanna.
Etra told E! News after court today that his client, who is fine with the terms of Brown's probation yet doesn't feel the need for the stay-away order, is currently in New York working and has no plans to attend the Aug. 27 sentencing.
Rihanna is doing "fine" and focusing on work, he said.
(Originally published Aug. 5, 2009, at 3:10 p.m. PT)
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