Singer Chris Brown Pleads Not Guilty

On Monday, the singer Chris Brown pleaded not guilty to threatening and physically assaulting his girlfriend, singer Rihanna. Rihanna's lawyer was hoping that a plea deal could be made before the case went to trial and has stated that Rihanna would testify if it is required. If Brown is convicted, he could be sentenced to probation or as much as five years in prison. In March, he was charged by Los Angeles County prosecuters with felony assault likely to cause great bodyily injury and making criminal threats.

Verdict of Man Who Killed T.I.'s Friend

The man, named Hosea Thomas, who killed the friend of rapper T.I., named Philant Johnson, was found guilty of murder in the shooting that happened in 2006. Thomas was also convicted of felonious assault and illegally having a gun after having a felony conviction. T.I. had testified last week in the trial and he told jurors that he felt that the bullets that were fired and killed his friend was meant for him even though he wasn't injured in the shooting. Thomas can face up to life in prison at his sentencing on December 23rd.

Rapper T.I. Testifies in Murder Trial

On Friday, the rapper T.I. testified in court as a witness that he felt that the bullets fired at his entourage during a vehicle chase two years ago were meant for him. A man named Hosea Thomas is on trial for firing a shot that killed a man named Philant Johnson, a close friend of T.I., during a gun battle on Interstate 75. T.I stated that he felt that all of those shots were actually meant for him and not the man that was killed. T.I. was not harmed during the shooting but three other people were.

Akon Goes to Trial in Fan Tossing Case

The singer Akon will go to trial on criminal charges that he tossed a fan offstage at a concert last summer. He is being accused tossing a teenager off of a stage during a concert in June of 2007 at a minor league baseball stadium near Poughkeepsie. Another woman claimed that she suffered a concussion when the tossed boy landed on her.

Akon is due back in court on December 1st. In December, he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment.

Rapper DMX Pleads Guilty

On Wednesday, the rapper DMX has pleaded guilty to attempted marijuana and cocaine possession and was sentenced to time served. He is now awaiting extradition to face more charges in Arizona. He is still in custody while waiting for Arizona authorities to pick him up on drug and animal cruelty charges there.

DMX decided to plead guilty after he was denied bail earlier this week due to an outstanding Arizona warrant. If he hadn’t pleaded guilty, then he would have had to stay in jail in Miami until an October trial date.

Singer R. Kelly’s Trial Finally Ready to Begin

After six years of delays, the jury selection is set to begin in the singer R. Kelly’s trail on child pornography charges. The charges are based on a videotape showing him supposedly having sex with a 13 year old girl. The girl, who is now 23 years old, says that it wasn’t her on the tape and R. Kelly also claims that it wasn’t him on the tape either. He could face up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted. The trial may last several weeks and in previous years Kelly has already settled three lawsuits that accused him of having sex with underage girls.

Woman Loses Thousands of Dollars in Lawsuit for Downloading Music

A woman in Minnesota, named Jammie Thomas, was court ordered to pay $222,000 for downloading and sharing copyrighted music online. The record industry wants to make an example out of her and send the message that downloading and sharing music is not okay or legal.

Thomas is ordered to pay the six record companies that sued her for $9,250 for each of the 24 songs that they are focusing on in this case. They say she shared a total of 1,702 songs. This is the first time that one of the music industry's lawsuits went to trial. Most people settle and pay the companies a few thousand dollars. Thomas thought that she didn't do anything wrong and proceeded with the lawsuit against her. Thomas claimed she didn't own a file sharing account with Kazaa but evidence showed that the Internet address belonged to her.

Jammie Thomas is 30 years old and lives paycheck to paycheck and now she could get a fourth of her paycheck garnished for the rest of her life. Including the attorney fees, she could owe nearly half a million dollars.