Justin Bieber faces May 5 trial date in Florida drunken driving case

[March 12, 2014]  MIAMI (Reuters) — A Miami judge has set a May 5 trial date for pop singer Justin Bieber, who faces charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and using an expired license after police say he was caught drag racing in Miami Beach.

The 20-year-old Bieber has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He did not attend the hearing on Tuesday in a Miami-Dade county court.

The initial March trial date was postponed after lawyers for Bieber and several news organizations argued in court over whether the media should have access to video images of the singer while he was in police custody following his arrest on January 23.

Police arrested Bieber for drunken driving after officers stopped him in a rented yellow Lamborghini alongside another driver in a red Ferrari on a main Miami Beach street.

Two SUVs had blocked off the road so the singer could race a friend, police said.

Bieber initially resisted arrest, cursed at police officers and later told them he had consumed alcohol, pot and prescription drugs, according to police.

He was released from jail after a judge set bail at $2,500. If convicted, Bieber could face six months in jail, although experts say he will likely get off with a lighter sentence for his first offense.

Bieber was charged in February with assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto late last year.

(Reporting by Kevin Gray; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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