What's Next for Justin Bieber?

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 08:02:00 AM EST
Tags: Justin Bieber (all tags)

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Justin Bieber was released on bond in Miami yesterday, following his arrest for drunk driving, resisting arrest without force and driving on a an expired license. His manager retained Miami uber-defender Roy Black to represent him. Roy complained to the judge that his partner hadn't been allowed into the jail to see Justin before the hearing. After being released, Justin flew back to California. The Miami Police Chief said:

Bieber "made some statements that he had consumed some alcohol, and that he had been smoking marijuana and consumed some prescription medication," Martinez said.

I think predictions this may lead to his deportation are overblown, if not just false. The D.U.I carries a maximum penalty of 6 months. By itself, it's not a crime of moral turpitude, a crime of violence or an aggravated felony. [More...]

People lawfully present in the U.S. don't get deported for a simple DUI and they aren't denied admission to the U.S. upon their return from traveling abroad. Bieber is reportedly here legally on a visa issued specifically to immigrants with extraordinary talent in science, education, business, arts or athletics.

As to where Bieber is headed, my best guess, given his other publicized legal woes this month, is rehab. It may take some doing to get him to agree, but if that's what's required to fend off a felony vandalism charge in California, he'll be talked into it.

Update: It's now being reported Justin's BAC was .014, next to nothing. It wouldn't even qualify for the "zero tolerance" suspension law in effect in Florida for drivers under 21. According to the arrest report, they only conducted a breath test, not a blood test. So it's unlikely they could prove drugged driving.

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What's Next for Justin Bieber? | 45 comments (45 topical)

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I don't see Bieber's category up there (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Dadler on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:49:16 AM EST

Bieber is reportedly here legally on a visa issued specifically to immigrants with extraordinary talent in science, education, business, arts or athletics.

Where's "out of control, immature asshat-ism" in that selection?

I haven't read anywhere (none / 0) (#10)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:52:39 AM EST

About his entourage - they were supposedly blocking off the street so the Biebs could drag race. Are any of them at least getting a ticket for impeding traffic or something?


It was 4:30 in the morning (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by CoralGables on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:06:44 AM EST

There was no traffic other than those who were following the yellow lamborghini that he was renting for $1800 a day.

Miami Beach thrives on celebs. A minor slap on the wrist at most and come back anytime.

Also, drag racing is what they do on State Road 27 near Miami. 60 mph on Pine Tree Drive is just speeding.


: Killjoy (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by Dadler on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:23:40 AM EST

;-)

Well, one member of The Bieb's entourage ... (none / 0) (#28)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 02:08:42 PM EST

... that night was apparently his own 38-year-old father, Jeremy:

"Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... 38-year-old Jeremy Bieber was not only present when Justin was arrested early Thursday morning ... he was one of the people who helped block off the residential street so his son could drag race."

How wonderful it must have been for Jeremy Bieber to have been a teenaged father! Because now that his baby boy Justin is an older teenager himself, he's still young enough to personally show his son the proper way to raise some hell. Way to go, Dad.

:-(


Isn't he "retiring"? (none / 0) (#14)
by oculus on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:09:46 AM EST

Or am I just tired of reading about him.

Is he a good singer w/ii his genre?


He plays to thirteen year old girls (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by jondee on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:34:22 AM EST

heart strings. The people of package singers like Justin recycle the same formula over-and-over: cute,(generally) Caucasian, non-threatening, slightly androgynous boy-next-door with slightly above average vocal abilities.


The people WHO package.. (none / 0) (#19)
by jondee on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:46:26 AM EST

The people WHO package.. (none / 0) (#20)
by jondee on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:46:41 AM EST

seeing double today, or something oy (none / 0) (#21)
by jondee on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:47:14 AM EST

Approaching Groundhog Day (none / 0) (#22)
by CoralGables on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 11:01:55 AM EST

: I'm also starting to suspect (5.00 / 4) (#23)
by jondee on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 11:06:52 AM EST

that Justin and Miley Cyrus are the same person.

I think (none / 0) (#43)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Sun Jan 26, 2014 at 03:19:12 PM EST

he's a pretty good performer. I have found some of his performances on award shows really interesting to watch, mostly the choreography and dance.

I suspect his voice is enhanced. But I give these kids some credit if they can "busta move". ;-).

He's definitely better than me ;-).


The Biebs lives kinda near me. (5.00 / 2) (#24)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 11:37:23 AM EST

So he's been in our local news a lot recently. I certainly can't afford a home where he lives, but is it just me, or are there others who would never consider buying a home on a street named "Prado del Grandioso?" Ah well, sounds like the developer know his market...

Bieb's of Fredericks Spam (5.00 / 2) (#47)
by CoralGables on Mon Jan 27, 2014 at 06:57:59 AM EST

He is lucky (none / 0) (#1)
by bmaz on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 08:26:34 AM EST

Had this occurred in Arizona, any DWI/DUI while your license is suspended is a class 4 felony. There is mandatory prison time.

I don't believe (none / 0) (#2)
by CoralGables on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 08:40:26 AM EST

his license was suspended, just expired. Also, he blew a .04 which at most gets him a suspended license in Florida for being underage.


Google News just said... (5.00 / 2) (#7)
by fishcamp on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:36:10 AM EST

the Biebs blew a .014 which is less than a beer. Evidently he was not drunk and the cops that said he reeked of alcohol are being investigated.


I must have read wrong (none / 0) (#8)
by CoralGables on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:47:32 AM EST

still a .014 while being underage will warrant a suspended license in Florida (although he doesn't have a FL license to suspend). That will likely be the max along with a speeding ticket. All the other chatter about deportation etc is from people trying to get their name in the news.


You were right for a while (none / 0) (#11)
by fishcamp on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:52:44 AM EST

as they first said he blew a ,04 and then changed the news report. I happened to wake up at 3:30 am and stupidly started watching the Nadal-Federer tennis match live from Australia and caught the Bieb news too.


Problem is (none / 0) (#12)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:00:43 AM EST

He allegedly admitted to being high on pot and on pills, which would still fall under "driving under the influence," regardless of BAC.


I'm starting to feel like he's (5.00 / 1) (#15)
by Anne on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 10:15:53 AM EST

trying too hard to shed his squeaky-clean, teen idol image - there's a "stage-y" quality to his antics that kind of annoys me.


: I think you are right about (none / 0) (#25)
by Amiss on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 12:04:13 PM EST

this. Did you see his mugshot? That big grin on his
face was just too much of a tell. Never have seen that level of mischieviousness in a mugshot before, I am fairly sure many here have, though since a fair amount of their clients are in the penal system.
He reminds me of what I would associate with the current behavior of a male Miley Cyrus, who is trying to shed her Hannah Montana image. IMHO both should be taught a better way to accomplish this without the "negative" publicity that is currently encompassing them. IOW they need a new publicist.
I hope I made some sense so that my feelings come across correctly.

It's not just the DUI (none / 0) (#3)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 08:53:35 AM EST

I posted some of this yesterday. My bolds.

From the LA Times:

"He's headed down a bad path, and he needs to watch out," said Stacy Tolchin, an immigration attorney in Los Angeles, who said the egging could still prove to be a bigger problem for Bieber's life in the U.S. than the Miami Beach arrest.
Immigration law can get complicated when it comes to deportation.
Tolchin said a nonpermanent resident can get kicked out of the U.S. if found guilty of a felony capable of bringing a sentence longer than a year in prison; even if someone is sentenced to less than a year in prison on such a charge, they could still be deported.

SNIP

Carl Shusterman, a Los Angeles attorney specializing in immigration law and a former immigration prosecutor, added that if Bieber admitted to police that he abused drugs, it could be a big problem.
Shusterman pointed to a provision in U.S. immigration law that states, "Any alien who is, or at any time after admission has been, a drug abuser or addict is deportable."
Immigration law also allows U.S. officials to deport visitors for "moral turpitude," which is a hazier area of U.S. law, immigration attorneys said.
"That's an immigration term, and it can get you deported generally for intentional or knowing malicious conduct of some kind," said Mitchell Ignatoff, a criminal defense attorney in Englewood, N.J., who has handled immigration cases. "There's a long history of what crimes involve moral turpitude under immigration laws. Theft is one; certain violent crimes."
And much of it involves the immigrant's mental state during the crime. If the alleged drag racing was "intentional or knowing" in that it could cause bodily harm, perhaps that could be considered moral turpitude, Ignatoff said.
But it depends on whether Bieber is convicted.

I don't think he'll get deported - he'll get good attorneys, get a slap on the wrist and a finger wag, go to rehab, and be good to go.

He may be able to be talked into rehab, (none / 0) (#4)
by Anne on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:03:07 AM EST

and it's possible that even if he goes on a semi-coerced basis he could derive some benefit from it, but unless he's at the point where it's his decision and he's making it because this isn't how he wants to live anymore, and this isn't the person he wants to be, it's likely to be less-than-successful.

If it's just about staying out of jail, or fulfilling the terms of probation, chances are he goes, and spends the whole time more convinced than ever that he's not one of "those" people, that this is just because he's rich and famous, and, jeez, can't a guy just have some fun, for crying out loud? What's the big deal - he's just doing what millions of other teenagers do, right?

I don't pretend to know if Bieber's just going through a phase and has the wherewithal to get past it or if he's on the verge of spinning out of control; for his sake, I hope it's the former, but from what I have read, I'm not optimistic.

Agreed. For his sake, I hope so, too. (none / 0) (#26)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 01:53:52 PM EST

I have a first cousin from Illinois who's 23 years younger than me, and only eight years older than my eldest. He has been an incorrigible alcoholic and substance abuser since he was a teenager, and has had numerous brushes with the law over the years as a result.

He was the baby of the family, born to his parents when they were 40, and he's significantly younger than his sisters. To be honest, my aunt and uncle probably indulged him excessively, as did his eldest sister (who's 18 years older), and he grew up as somewhat of a spoiled brat. My aunt and uncle were beside themselves, trying to deal with him and help him as he slowly spiraled out of control, and I think the serious stress he brought into their lives contributed to their own health-related issues.

Several court-ordered stints in rehab had no lasting effect because he repeatedly backslid, and in fact he probably got worse over time. After yet another DUI (his fifth) in which he crashed his now ex-girlfriend's car into a tree (no one hurt or killed, thankfully), it took an exasperated judge and a resultant extended stint in county jail before he was finally convinced that sobriety might indeed be the better course.

I'm hoping that the judge's decision to play hardball with him may well eventually prove to have saved his life. He's been stone-cold sober for almost two years, and lives next door to his oldest sister in Wisconsin, who's been keeping a loving, watchful and encouraging eye on him. He has a decent job and attends A.A. meetings, but he freely admitted to me when we talked at Christmas that every day is still a constant struggle with temptation for him.

I pray that he succeeds in overcoming his demons, because I'm now old enough to remember what happened with two college buddies who went down the same path. Neither made it to age 45.

Aloha.


I wish your cousin well, Donald; it's (none / 0) (#32)
by Anne on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 02:50:36 PM EST

not easy to come back from where he's been.

My dad finally quit drinking when I was 13, and was sober until the day he died, 23 years later, but he, too, used to talk about how that temptation was always lurking. My brother went down that same path, but he added pills to his repertoire. He managed to quit drinking, but he's had his slips with the pills, most recently a couple years ago, and likely the result of the aftermath of the motorcycle accident that broke his leg.

My brother may be one of the unhappiest people you'd ever meet; I think he struggles so because he's never really slayed the demons that sent him in the direction he went. He may be sober, and that certainly counts for something, but he's not happy, and I pretty much don't expect him to ever be. The toll that's taken on him and on his family is terrible, and it's been an object lesson to me for why you have to do the work to figure out who you are and why you do what you do - or you are doomed to pass all the ugliness on to the next generation.

I hope your cousin finds happiness to go along with his sobriety - that he learns he can be happy, that he deserves to be happy, that he doesn't have to be afraid to be happy.

Oh, dear - and now I'm channeling Stuart Smalley; just shoot me...


Hey! (none / 0) (#33)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 02:52:35 PM EST

Stuart Smalley became a US Senator!


LOL! I know... (none / 0) (#34)
by Anne on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 03:07:43 PM EST

He's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone it, people like him!


Yes, they do. (none / 0) (#36)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 03:44:26 PM EST

The latest polls from Minnesota have Sen. Franken ahead of the various declared GOP Senate candidates by pretty comfortable margins. His closest Republican rival at this time appears to be St. Louis County (Duluth) Board Commissioner Chris Dahlberg, who trails Franken by 10 points in some polls, and more in others.

Al Franken has kept his head down in Washington, staying mostly out of the limelight and working hard as an issues-oriented pol, and Minnesotans apparently appreciate that. More importantly, he's really not offering the GOP much of a target to shoot at, and word on the street is that the NRSC will likely pass on this race this fall, and look elsewhere for likely pickup prospects.

That's actually a pretty amazing turn of events, given that the comedian-turned freshman U.S. senator first won his seat by only a few hundred votes, and had Republicans promising very loudly to unseat him after he was finally declared the winner over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman in the extended statewide recount and subsequent court challenge.

Ah, Norm Colemam (none / 0) (#37)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 03:50:36 PM EST

Haven't thought about him in several years, and now this is twice in a week that his name comes up.

I was leaving work last week and some guy gets off the elevator at my floor, realizes he's in the wrong place and gets back on. Several of us get on the elevator, only to have it go up, but meanwhile, I'm looking at my co-worker and trying to be discreet by saying, "This guy looks familiar - who is he?" My co-worker shrugs and as soon as the man gets off the elevator on the 10th floor, it hits me - it was Norm Coleman!


Well, that's not surprising. (none / 0) (#39)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 03:55:31 PM EST

Mr. Coleman is paid rather handsomely to reside and work in your neck of the woods.


Yep (none / 0) (#40)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 04:05:08 PM EST

A block down the street, I believe.

But let's face it - he's no Justin Bieber. :)


: And let's hope that Justin Bieber ... (none / 0) (#41)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 05:02:30 PM EST

... doesn't find sobriety by morphing into Norm Coleman.
;-D

P.S.: This is a relevant comment ... (none / 0) (#38)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 03:51:10 PM EST

... to this thread, Jeralyn, because Al Franken co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bass for the 1994 film "When a Man Loves a Woman," which centered on a young couple's struggle with the consequences of her alcoholism and his enabling behavior.

I know it's a stretch, but hey! ;-D


Also involved here in Fla. (none / 0) (#27)
by Amiss on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 01:59:44 PM EST

is the drastic change to Florida's laws involving
narcotics. It was too lenient, and we had more "Pain Clinics" here in Jacksonville than McDonalds. Now the law has gone too far in the opposite direction. So far, that pharmacists are afraid to fill an Rx for pain, even tho they know the patient and know that they are not abusing the Rx. I am currently dealing with the latter. At the pharmacy I have used since we moved here almost 2 years ago. I am still hooked up to a wound vacuum and I have been since October, when I was hospitalized for 6 weeks, still require home nursing and much help as I need to heal inside first, then outter. My wound is hindered in this because of my diabetes so am on a Vitamin C heavy regimen as well as my age.
They don't say that, though, when I go, they say they are out (no way that is even possible, as they are a 'chain') and it will be a week until they get any in. I would rather them tell me the truth than that obvious lie they are always doling out.
He may have found out he decided to pull that in the
wrong state.


please take this to an open thread (none / 0) (#42)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 08:31:26 PM EST

so this can stay on the topic of Bieber. Thanks.


: After mulling it over... (none / 0) (#44)
by unitron on Sun Jan 26, 2014 at 04:20:44 PM EST

...for the better part of a day, I'm still having trouble seeing at exactly what point Amiss crossed over the line between an observation about Florida drug laws which might be pertinent to the situation to having desecrated the sacredness of the Bieber thread.

But...how will it impact his art? (none / 0) (#5)
by ruffian on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:23:58 AM EST

Does he write his own songs?

Maybe he will add "I Fought The Law" (5.00 / 3) (#6)
by ruffian on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 09:24:55 AM EST

to his concert set list.


: Absolutely! (none / 0) (#29)
by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 02:17:40 PM EST

That song would dovetail perfectly with his cover of The Doors' "Alabama Song."

Has got to be a typo (none / 0) (#30)
by MKS on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 02:35:06 PM EST

".014?" Has got to be .14, right?

They arrested him on .014? Good lord. Maybe the cops misread it as .14.

You can get a reading of 0.014 from bread.

: No one really knows (none / 0) (#31)
by jbindc on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 02:43:25 PM EST

They aren't releasing his BAC, but it was under .08 (which doesn't matter because the BAC limit for someone under 21 who is operating a car is .02).
I don't know where Google New (or TMZ, where I saw it) got .014.

Pop star Justin Bieber's blood-alcohol content was below 0.08% in two breath tests that authorities gave him relating to his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence in Florida on Thursday, a source close to the investigation said.
The source did not give the exact level. The 0.08% mark is generally the legal limit for drivers in Florida, though 0.02% is the limit for drivers under the legal drinking age of 21. Police said Bieber admitted to drinking, using marijuana and taking prescription pills.

Seems like (none / 0) (#35)
by Mikado Cat on Fri Jan 24, 2014 at 03:21:52 PM EST

either image management, or just doing what many rich young kids do. If it wasn't the Bieb, it wouldn't be even much in the local news.

Have you seen the picture of Beib and Miley side by side, uncanny how much they look alike.

Well, he may have made it easy for the (none / 0) (#45)
by scribe on Sun Jan 26, 2014 at 08:10:17 PM EST

immigration folks: he left Miami and went to ... Panama.

Just the kind of thing that endears clients to their attorneys, and defendants to the court system.