Font Resize
In this June 11, 2012 file photo, pop star Justin Bieber poses for photos prior to a press conference at a hotel in Mexico City. The attorney for a paparazzo charged under a new California law aimed at curtailing the dangerous pursuit of celebrities for photos said he is challenging the law s constitutionality. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini, file)
Anthony McCartnery, AP Entertainment Writer
A paparazzo charged with recklessly pursuing Justin Bieber for photos will challenge the constitutionality of the law targeting aggressive celebrity-hounding tactics, his attorney said Friday.
Attorney David S. Kestenbaum filed a motion asking a judge to declare that the 2010 California statute penalizing those who drive recklessly in pursuit of commercial photos is unconstitutional.
The 17-page motion argues the law used to charge his client, Paul Raef, violates First Amendment protections for the press and is too broad.
Kestenbaum filed the motion during a brief hearing that neither Raef nor Bieber attended. The photographer was charged last month with four misdemeanor counts after a July 6 high-speed pursuit on a Los Angeles freeway involving the pop singer and other paparazzi.
Raef is the first person charged under the law.
The motion does not address the specifics of the incident, but rather challenges the law on constitutional grounds. It contends the law is vague because state vehicle codes do not adequately define what would be a photo taken for commercial purposes.
"First and foremost, the statute unconstitutionally singles out the press for a special penalty," the motion states.
A judge will hear the motion during a hearing on Sept. 24. Raef has not yet entered a plea in the case.
Raef, 30, was not arrested during the chase. However, his license plate was reported to police, who investigated and presented the case to city prosecutors. They charged Raef on July 25, but when the photographer appeared for booking, Kestenbaum said police were unaware of the new law and he was not processed.
Kestenbaum said he expects the case will likely end up in an appeals court, regardless of any ruling by a criminal court judge.
Raef has also been charged with more traditional reckless driving and for following other cars too closely.
Prosecutors allege he chased Bieber at more than 80 mph and forced other motorists to avoid collisions while Raef tried to get shots of the teen heartthrob.
___
Alleged LL Cool J intruder has criminal record
The man charged with breaking into LL Cool J's house earlier this week has a lengthy criminal record that includes a manslaughter conviction in Texas, court records show.
Authorities say the actor-rapper subdued Jonathan A. Kirby early Wednesday after finding the man in his Los Angeles home, breaking Kirby's nose, jaw and ribs in the process.
Kirby, 58,
This June 11, 2012 file photo shows LL Cool J at the premiere of the documentary film "A Death In The Family: The Show Must Go On" at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file)
Records show Kirby was sentenced to six years of imprisonment, but was paroled the following year. By January 1990 he had been arrested on a prostitution-related charge in West Hollywood, and in 1995 was convicted of felony residential burglary. He is charged with the same offense in the LL Cool J incident and could face 38 years to life in prison if convicted.
No additional details about the circumstances of the Texas manslaughter conviction were available Friday.
Prosecutors want Kirby, a transient who has used different names and dates of birth over the years, treated as a third-strike offender.
Authorities say LL Cool J, whose real name is James Todd Smith, and his family were unharmed during the break-in, and nothing was apparently taken from their home.
Kirby has yet to make a court appearance and had to be hospitalized because of his injuries.
R&B singer Usher wins primary custody of sons
Jonathan Landrum Jr., Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) - Grammy-winning R&B singer Usher on Friday was awarded primary physical custody of his two sons, ending a long legal fight with his ex-wife.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane ruled that the singer, 33, will have primary custody of 4-year-old Usher Raymond V and 3-year-old
In this May 22, 2012 file photo, hip-hop artist Usher Raymond takes the witness stand in court in a legal battle with his ex-wife in a custody fight involving their two sons, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman, file)
Boone said Usher and his ex-wife Tameka Foster Raymond will have joint legal custody. The type of visitation hasn't been determined yet for Tameka Raymond.
Usher's lawyer, Ivory Brown, did not immediately return a call on Friday. Lisa West, a lawyer for Tameka Raymond, did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Usher, whose real name is Usher Raymond IV, married Tameka Raymond in 2007. They divorced two years later. He said the couple had been separated since July 2008 and claimed there was "no reasonable hope of reconciliation" and the marriage was "irretrievably broken."
In May, Usher testified that Tameka Raymond spit at and tried to fight with his girlfriend during one visit and that his ex-wife hit him during the dispute. He said he didn't press charges because: "I didn't want the boys to know that their father put their mother in jail," he said.
Tameka Raymond's attorney claimed that Usher provoked her client and that his account is exaggerated.
The custody decision comes after Tameka Raymond's 11-year-old son Kile Glover died last month after he was critically injured in a boating accident. The boy was run over July 6 by a personal watercraft on Lake Lanier, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Lake Lanier is about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
