6/27/09 6/22/09

Chris Brown Avoids Jail Time, Strikes Plea Bargain in Rihanna Case

Chris Brown Avoids Jail Time, Strikes Plea Bargain

June 22, 2009 by Celebrity

Chris Brown arrived at court in LA earlier today to face a judge in his assault trial. He pled guilty in exchange for a plea bargain that will see Chris serve 180 days of community service, five years probation, and complete a domestic violence counseling program. If he meets those terms, no jail time will be required. He'll complete his hours of service near his home in Virginia, and Chris also apparently has to stay far away from Rihanna. The presiding judge said, "I want Mr. Brown to be treated the same as any other defendant who would come into this court." As required, Rihanna was was on hand to deliver testimony, though it wasn't needed considering Chris's plea.

Source and Splash News Online

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travelsugarfairy 8 years

Dear Pop, "Rihanna was was on hand to deliver testimony..." -uhm.... no proof reader?

Ana-V452519 8 years

I truly hope he learns with all of this and never heat a woman again in his life.

Ginger 8 years

There is also the chance that if they had a trial, he might not get convicted. At least now he has a solid felony conviction for a violent crime, which will impact the rest of his life. He's so young, he probably doesn't fully yet get how and why this will affect him. Some countries, (like possibly England) may not let him in for any visit. And for the rest of his life he is subject to search and seizure at any policeman's whim, with no warrant needed. He's going to have to live a squeaky clean life to avoid going to jail.

Amesabelle 8 years

His copping a plea likely has nothing to do with Rhianna and everything to do with the D.A. and the court system (and Chris Brown) wanting to avoid a costly, time-consuming trial. HE chose to take a plea because HE didn't his album-buying public to have the opportunity to read on record exactly what he did to her. Although, many times when you take a plea, part of the arrangement is that you have to describe the crime you committed for the court record. He plead to one count of assault. I wonder which one. This is not about Rhianna having anything to hide. Even if she acted like an *ss that night, she didn't commit a crime and therefore wasn't charged with anything. Capice?

ilanac13 8 years

well we kind of all knew that this was going to be the situation - so i'm not at all surprised by the outcome. i guess now they are finally able to put this behind them and i hope that they can move on and that he learns something from all this.

redchick152 8 years

i definitely wouldn't have minded seeing chris get some jail time...but at least he did plead guilty! i can't help but wonder why Rih wanted him to have a lighter sentence? whatev..i'm just glad she isn't with him anymore.

BRANDYNICOLE730 8 years

He gets off with probation for a violent crime. Meanwhile, drug offenders are sitting in prison for years. So, it's ok to beat your girlfiend, as long as you don't happen to be smoking a joint at the same time? Don't act like our prisons are full of all violent offenders. Simply untrue.

BRANDYNICOLE730 8 years

Complete BS. Nice message being sent along there.

hillamaria 8 years

I think it's ok he doesn't get jail time the first time. It's never okay to hit anyone and I'm sure this five years he's gonna have to watch out to what he's doing is gonna do good for him, The community service time and domestic violence counseling program are better for him than sitting in a jail - he doesn't get away with it, he needs to work and that's important.

snowbunny11 8 years

Hugs Ginger. Neither the Rihanna bashing/victim blaming, nor saying Brown got off light is very helpful. Even though I wouldn't have minded seeing him get so me jail time our prisons are at capacity with seriously dangerous repeat offenders. I hope Chris Brown takes this chance to avoid falling into that cycle, and gets the help he needs. And being convicted of a violent felony is no joke, this will change his life forever.

Idalia 8 years

I don't think he is getting special treatment. I would've prefered that he got jail time but this is pretty standard for first time offenders. If he is involved in this type of offence in the future he can expect jail time. Hopefully he'll learn his lesson and he will still be in probation for awhile.

Ginger 8 years

THe Josh Brolin case was in the news when it happened FIVE years ago. He was cited for a misdemeanor. This case is different in that it is a much more severe beating, hence the felony charges. No doubt this will fade in the news in five years too, as will probably both of their careers,

Iris1000 8 years

The attention that has been paid to this particular case by the public is what makes me uneasy. Diane Lane and Josh Brolin had an incident of domestic violence. I don't know if it received the kind of passionate attention this couple's debacle has. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200412/ai_n8607001/

Ginger 8 years

It's really not the light slap on the wrist it sounds like. This is going to impact what he can do and where he can go for the rest of his life. Some countries might not let him in, which is going to hurt his touring abilities. (No tears from me on that--this all might help save some future women from abuse at his hands.) And no star treatment and luxury vacations (well, other than weekends,) while he's working those 40 hours a week in public service for 6 months. Here's the TMZ List of what he has to do: He'll spend 180 days doing community labor (8 hours a day -- 1440 hours total) -- which is, in effect, hard labor. He'll do his service in Virginia which is where Brown lives. A Virginia law enforcement officer told us Brown will be picking up trash, pulling weeds and washing fire trucks. He gets 5 years probation for FELONY assault -- he pled guilty. He'll get supervised probation. He'll have to come back to court every three months. He must enroll in a domestic violence counseling program. This is interesting ... the judge said if Brown and Rihanna are at the same public events, the 50-yard stay away turns into 10 yards. The stay away order lasts 5 years. If Brown violates probation, he could get up to 4 years in prison. So Brown is now a convicted felon and loses the following rights: To own a gun, to sit on a jury, subject to search and seizure without a search warrant and he now has limitations on travel.

Pampire 8 years

I agree jaan_ black, he should of got the probation, community service and jail time! Total slap on the wrist!

jaan_black 8 years

slap on the wrist

snowbunny11 8 years

I work as a prosecutor in the DV bureau. This is absolutely a fair and typical sentence for a first-time offender. Probation is no joke, and generally if these first time offenders get jail time, it's for violating probation, or violating an order of protection. A plea in a case like this is not a bad thing, he has admitted he is just as guilty as he would be if he were found guilty by a jury after a trial. It just means he knows the evidence against him is overwhelming, and there is no need to go to a jury. The DA's office saves some taxpayer money, and spares the victim from testifying by offering a plea. Also, he plead to a felony, not a misdemeanor, which is a big deal, he didn't really "get away with" much by avoiding jail. For those of you saying Rihanna should have been charged with something as well, proof of injury is needed for an assault charge. Rihanna was clearly injured, as Chris Brown is much larger than her, and must have hit her very hard to cause that sort of bruising. Brown had no injuries, so I'm not really sure why you would assume Rihanna even hit him, but if she had, she obviously didn't hurt him, and he made no claims of self-defense, and never stated that she assaulted him. It makes me incredibly sad to see so many women on this site assuming that Rihanna did something to deserve the abuse. The culture of victim-blaming we have, and the fact that many women believe men are brilliant and can do no wrong leads many men to believe they are justified when they hit their wives. Since November of '08, our office has seen on average a woman killed every two weeks by an abuser. I do not live in one of the major US cities, so this is a truly disturbing stat. I beg the readers of this site to be mindful of these statistics when they want to engage in victim-blaming, because you may just confirm in someone's mind that his or her partner deserves the abuse. PSA!

runningesq 8 years

So, Kathy, if you get punched, slapped, choked by a man double your size then it's YOUR fault too? That is the most ridiculous reasoning I've heard - you clearly have never been involved in DVs. This type of thinking makes me want to scream. It is NOT the victim's fault. Victims often cannot leave a relationship because they do not have the money or resources to do so. A victim should go to jail? What is wrong with you?

peachmarlin 8 years

He deserves jailtime and ought to take Rihanna with him.

Iris1000 8 years

I don't know about this case. I know each incident is supposed to be separate but I read that Rihanna had broken a glass bottle over one of her brother's heads a few years earlier. Don't know what happened between her and Chris, but something tells me that though he might have hit her, what came before that from her side? TMZ published the photo of her with bruses, etc. Which really got the public in an outraged tizzy. The reason I would like both sides is that I have a brother who was constantly beat on by a former girl friend and verbally abused by her. He finally got out of the relationship. Thank goodness. For this reason, I know women can beat on men as well with domestic violence. Though men seem to be the reported perpertrator most often. So when it comes to this, it is good to know both sides.

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