Spears' father appears in court

Ms Spears' lawyer claims she is a temporary Californian resident

Singer Britney Spears' father Jamie has represented the star in a court case accusing her of driving without a valid Californian licence.

The charge relates to an incident in Los Angeles in August 2007 when Ms Spears was photographed hitting a parked car and leaving the scene.

Mr Spears said she had planned to move to her home state of Louisiana so did not need a Californian driving licence.

The 26-year-old is exercising her right to stay away from court.

The pop star had initially faced hit-and-run charges but they were dropped last October when she compensated the driver of the damaged car.

The prosecution said it was "a straightforward case" - her address was listed as Beverley Hills so she should have a Californian driving licence.

Rejected

Her lawyer, J Michael Flanagan, told the jury there was no dispute she had been driving but said that, at the time, she had a valid Louisiana driving licence.

He argued that Ms Spears did not need a Californian driving licence because she was only a temporary resident of Los Angeles.

He said: "She was residing in California - I'm not trying to get tricky with terminology but 'resident' has a different definition."

Her father told the court that she intended to move back to Louisiana but that her ongoing custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline kept her in California.

Under cross-examination, Mr Spears admitted that his daughter had strong ties with California and acknowledged that she had got married and divorced in the state and had two children there.

Closing arguments from both sides were expected on Friday.

Mr Flanagan rejected a plea deal which would have resulted in a $150 (�85) fine saying Ms Spears did not want a criminal record.

She faces jail if convicted, but this is unlikely as she has no criminal record.

This week, the singer hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time since her debut single Baby One More Time, in 1999.

Womanizer, the first track off her new album Circus, was boosted by first-week download sales of 286,000.

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