LOS ANGELES – Rihanna is ready, willing and – as it happens – required to take the stand against ex-beau Chris Brown at a hearing this month.
The singer’s attorney, Donald Etra, told E! News that Rihanna will be called to testify at the June 22 preliminary hearing in Brown’s felony assault case.
‘The judge advised me that there will be a subpoena for Rihanna as a witness at the preliminary hearing,’ Etra said following a morning hearing. ‘She will definitely comply.’
And she will be doing so while facing her alleged attacker.
‘He has to be here anytime a witness is called,’ Brown’s attorney Mark Geragos said, confirming that the ‘monster’-denying R&B star will indeed be present to hear the testimony.
According to Geragos, the prosecution will outline their case against the embattled R&B star. Aside from Rihanna, the DA is expected to call the officers who were first to respond to the scene and find the bloodied and abandoned Rihanna.
The judge will then determine whether there is enough evidence to go to trial.
Geragos suffered a setback after Judge Patricia Schnegg denied his motions to have the Los Angeles Police Department turn over the evidence from its internal investigation of the illegally leaked post-attack photo of Rihanna before the next hearing.
The attorney revealed last month that his defence would hinge on the impropriety of the LAPD, which he says purposely disseminated the image of bruised Rihanna to TMZ.
Geragos says such alleged police misconduct tainted any would-be jury pool.
The judge, meanwhile, rejected the notion that the photo’s surfacing, illegal as it was, affected the way officers handled the case.
‘The allegation is that some civilian or officer got the photo to TMZ,’ Schnegg said in court. ‘Did it impact the arrest of your client on that date? I think not.’
And while Schnegg did strike the entire police report from the record, she opted not to give any special protective treatment to Brown’s case.
‘I don’t care if your client is a high-profile client or not,’ she said. ‘It’s the same standard for everyone.’
As for the ‘Umbrella’ singer’s current state of mind, Etra said, ‘She’s doing fine.’
‘She’s monitoring closely the proceedings of this case.’ – E! Online
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