Prosecutors drop domestic spat case against Paul Simon, wife

[June 18, 2014]  By Richard Weizel

MILFORD Conn. (Reuters) - Prosecutors have decided not to go forward with disorderly conduct charges against Grammy Award-winning musicians Paul Simon and Edie Brickell after the couple had a shoving match in April at their Connecticut home, a court clerk said on Tuesday.

Simon, 72, and Brickell, 48, who married in 1992, were not present at Norwalk Superior Court on Tuesday. At a hearing last month, the couple had told Judge William Wenzel that the spat was atypical of their relationship and that they posed no threat to one another.

The charges were filed against the couple after New Canaan police were called to a cottage on their property in the wealthy Connecticut suburb on April 26.

On Tuesday, prosecutors said that they would not pursue the charges although they would reserve the right to reopen the case if the couple are arrested or charged again within the next 13 months, Deputy Court Clerk Emmy Kalmanidis said.

Wenzel accepted the prosecution's decision to drop the case at a hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

Simon had attempted to leave the cottage, Brickell blocked the door and the incident escalated into a shoving match, their attorney said.

Simon was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 for his work as part of the duo Simon and Garfunkel, which produced hits including "The Sound of Silence," and is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Brickell, best known for the 1988 hit "What I Am," released by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, won a Grammy this year with comedian Steve Martin for their bluegrass song "Love Has Come for You."

(Editing by Jonathan Allen, Jim Loney and Will Dunham)

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