LOS ANGELES -- Britney Spears' latest courtroom fight got underway here Thursday, with a prosecutor telling jurors the pop star had been guilty of driving without a valid California license.
Spears, 26, was not required to appear in court as prosecution and defense lawyers presented evidence in the trial, which is taking place after the singer rejected a plea deal that would have seen her fined $150.
The case stems from an August 2007 incident when paparazzi trailing the singer caught her bumping a car in a parking lot and driving away.
Prosecutors say Spears was later discovered not to have a valid California license. She is charged with a misdemeanor -- punishable by jail or a fine -- but for a first offense Spears is unlikely to receive a custodial sentence.
On Thursday, Deputy City Attorney Michael Amerian called a witness from the Department of Motor Vehicles who testified Spears had listed her address as Beverly Hills, before resting what he described as a "straight-forward" case.
Amerian told a jury of eight women and four men the case hinged on two points -- whether Spears was driving on the night in question and whether she had a valid driver's license.
Spears defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan said there was no dispute that his client had been driving. However he said at the time she had a valid driver's license in Louisiana, one of several states where she was a resident.
"She was residing in California -- I'm not trying to get tricky with terminology -- but 'resident' has a different definition," Flanagan said.
He said Spears planned to return to Louisiana as soon as possible but that her custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline had kept her in California.
Closing arguments in the case are scheduled on Friday.
Spears -- who hit rock bottom in January when she was twice rushed to hospital for psychiatric treatment after losing custody of her two young sons -- appears to have got her career back on track.
Her new single "Womanizer" went to the top of Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart this week, her first No.1 on the ranking since 1999's "Baby One More Time."
