Justin Bieber Allowed Into U.S. After ICE Search Turns Up Empty

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Sat Feb 01, 2014 at 03:27:14 PM EST
Tags: Justin Bieber (all tags)

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Last week, Justin Bieber was charged in Miami with driving under the influence, resisting arrest without force, and driving with an expired license. His toxicology report showed virtually no alcohol (.014). According to the results of his urine test, he had no amphetamines, opiates, oxycodone or Ambien (Zolpiderm)in his system. He tested positive for pot and Xanax, a prescription anxiety medication. These are not the results of someone with a drug problem. As to the drag racing allegation by police, that didn't happen either, according to the GPS data of the vehicle Justin was driving. The cops estimation of his speed in the police report was way off.

After a sojourn in Panama, he flew to Toronto where he had a pending misdemeanor-type charge for allegedly hitting a limo driver who was driving him and some friends around. He is represented in that case by the excellent Los Angeles attorney Howard Weitzman, and it sounds like that case will be tough to prove as well. [More...]

Justin was cruising along in Toronto in the back seat of the limo when he wanted the driver to turn up the noise ... on the radio. The driver turned it up ... but not as much as Justin wanted, and an argument erupted.

According to one of our sources ... the argument became physical when Justin reached his arm out to turn up the radio himself ... and the driver swatted his hand away. The limo driver claims Justin started screaming profanities ... then smacked him several times in the head.

Bieber's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, says his client is "innocent," and a source connected with Bieber insists it was one of Justin's friends -- not Justin -- who hit the driver. The source would not reveal the identity of the friend.

The cops say the driver claimed to be hit in the back of his head by someone in the back seat who he thought was Bieber. There were six people besides the driver in the car. If the limo driver was hit in the back of the head from someone in the back seat, how would he be able identify which person hit him?

Yesterday, he and his father and 8 or so other friends flew on a private jet into Teeterboro airport in N.J. with plans to attend the Superbowl.

ICE decided to search the chartered jet claiming they smelled marijuana on some of the passengers. They brought in the dogs and searched the plane, finding no drugs. Yet they kept Bieber for five hours, grilling him with questions, because he had active charges (Miami and Toronto.) They then let him enter the country.

Also yesterday, in Los Angeles, a friend of Justin's was charged with felony possession of drugs stemming from the Jan. 14 alleged egg-tossing incident at Justin's neighbor's house. No charges were brought against Bieber, although the egg-tossing incident is still under investigation.

The media headlines scream Justin is out of control. Sounds to me like law enforcement are the ones who need reining in.

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Justin Bieber Allowed Into U.S. After ICE Search Turns Up Empty | 12 comments (12 topical)

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there is no allegation he did not have (none / 0) (#2)
by Jeralyn on Sat Feb 01, 2014 at 06:37:50 PM EST

a valid prescription. He has not been charged with illegally obtaining or using a drug.

His mother manages his prescriptions, he doesn't know the names of his prescriptions. He did not get the off the street.

He had two breath tests for alcohol (.014 and .011) and a urine test. The cops said he failed a roadside sobriety, but that's inconsequential given the testing results.

Your comments are very anti-defense. This is a defense-oriented site. Promoting speculative scenarios to imply guilt is not allowed here.

Suggesting he got a drug off the street when there is no suggestion this happened is inappropriate here. Please take those kind of comments elsewhere.

The field sobriety test (none / 0) (#3)
by jbindc on Sat Feb 01, 2014 at 07:04:54 PM EST

At the police station, Bieber failed a series of sobriety tests, including "horizontal gaze," "Romberg balance," "walk and turn," "finger to nose" and "one-leg stand" tests, the police report said.
When Bieber was asked to estimate when 30 seconds passed, he failed by thinking a half-minute was over in 17 seconds, the report said.
He had "great difficulty" completing the Breathalyzer test, the officer wrote. He "continuously forgot basic instructions."
Bieber told the officer "that he was blowing as hard as he could, and told me to look at how red his face was," he wrote. "He advised he was blowing into the hose like he blows into his trumpet."

And while he may not be charged with anything - he DID have illegal substances - marijuana and alcohol - in his system (and he DID admit to using them), he WAS operating a motor vehicle, and was going twice the legal speed limit for that street, so we shouldn't all pretend that poor Justin is just being picked on by the police for no good reason.

This may be a defense site, but that doesn't mean we all need to leave common sense or our brains at the door.


It's not illegal (none / 0) (#4)
by Jeralyn on Sun Feb 02, 2014 at 12:03:37 AM EST

to have alcohol in your system when driving. It is illegal to operate a vehicle when your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol. Alcohol is not an illegal substance. Either is Xanax. Xanax is a controlled substance which is perfectly legal provided the person has a prescription. It is not illegal to drive after taking a Xanax. The warning on the medication says don't drive until you know how the medication affects you, it doesn't say don't use while driving. What's illegal is driving while your ability to operate a vehicle has been impaired by a controlled substance. The state would have to prove both:

While driving, the defendant was under the influence of a chemical substance or controlled substance, and
That as a result of the influence, the defendant `s normal faculties were impaired

The statute says it's crime if "The person is under the influence of ... any chemical substance ... or any controlled substance ..., when affected to
the extent that the person's normal faculties are impaired."

Justin had a .014 BAC. Even under Florida's "zero tolerance" juvenile DUI law, he wasn't impaired as the limit is .02. Also, juvenile DUI's in florida are not crimes. The penalty for a first DUI is a 6 month license suspension unless for anything up to .05.

Someone Justin's size would probably have higher than a .014 with a single beer.

The report says Justin was driving between 55 and 60 MPH in a 30 MPH residential area. The GPS report I linked to shows that's not true.

Cops claim they noticed the drag race on the 2600 block of Pine Tree Drive. Bieber came to a stop and was then arrested on the 4100 block. The 27 MPH read out is on the 3700 block ... smack in the middle of the supposed drag race. Mind you ... 27 MPH is UNDER the 30 MPH speed limit.
If Justin had been racing ... the GPS would have recorded a higher speed. Yet the maximum speed on Pine Tree was 27 MPH.

The entire traffic stop may be ruled illegal, in which case, so will the drug tests, he'd walk.

Also, while it may be illegal for someone under 21 to consume alcohol, that doesn't make alcohol an illegal substance and he hasn't been charged with underage consumption.

The point is, these are very minor offenses, certainly not something that warrants the amount of resources ICE devoted to searching his chartered plane or the man hours spent on 5 hours of questioning him. And smoking pot and taking xanax, if prescribed, is hardly evidence he's spiraling out of control. He's an easy target.


Did you read the article (none / 0) (#9)
by sj on Mon Feb 03, 2014 at 03:16:04 PM EST

And while he may not be charged with anything - he DID have illegal substances - marijuana and alcohol - in his system (and he DID admit to using them), he WAS operating a motor vehicle, and was going twice the legal speed limit for that street...

According to the GPS he was going UNDER the speed limit, not twice the legal speed limit.

And frankly, it is more in keeping with a rather privileged, smarta$$ kid who is NOT under the influence -- and KNOWS he is not under the influence -- to deliberately fail those sorts of tests. Because frankly, they're stupid tests. Lots of conditions and situations can cause failure. I'm not a rather privileged, smarta$$ kid and I see it that way.

So you're right. No need to leave common sense at the door.


The speed limit for that stretch (none / 0) (#10)
by jbindc on Mon Feb 03, 2014 at 03:23:53 PM EST

And the GPS still has to be tested.

Which also doesn't get around the point that he was driving with two illegal substances in his body..


Oh lordy (none / 0) (#11)
by sj on Mon Feb 03, 2014 at 03:31:07 PM EST

I expect you never jaywalk or exceed the speed limit by any amount or do anything normal because it would be breaking the law, right?

The only worse thing than someone who has all the vices, is someone who has none. Because then they think they are entitled to pass judgement on anyone not as virtuous as they.


As for his "admissions" (none / 0) (#12)
by sj on Mon Feb 03, 2014 at 03:37:23 PM EST

I have no idea what really went down. He's a spoiled brat, imo, but that isn't a crime.

With that caveat made, when I heard about his admissions to the police it reminded of the Ralph Macchio character in "My Cousin Vinny" who repeated, in incredulity, "I shot the clerk" and had it reported as a confession.

I looked for video of the clip, but a quick search turned up lots of other scenes but not that one.

Love that movie.


: Keep looking; don't tell me (none / 0) (#13)
by NYShooter on Mon Feb 03, 2014 at 10:15:18 PM EST

you're one of those yewts that gives up so easily.

It has just come to my attention that (none / 0) (#5)
by Jeralyn on Sun Feb 02, 2014 at 01:14:16 AM EST

the commenter Cassandra1313 was previously banned here under another name. I'll spare the the embarrassment of disclosing their original user name, which would be recognized by many TL readers.

Suffice it to say, when you are banned from this site you may not re-register using another name.

I don't ban many people, and they are almost always warned a few times or put it time out before I do so. Banning is permanent.

Cassandra1313 is banned, and all of his/her comments have been zapped.

Why is there such interest in Justin Bieber? (none / 0) (#6)
by RickyJim on Sun Feb 02, 2014 at 10:49:16 AM EST

I think that is the most interesting thing here. It certainly can't be that he has immense musical or poetical talent.

: Justin Bieber is a celebrity in pop culture, (none / 0) (#7)
by KeysDan on Sun Feb 02, 2014 at 11:46:36 AM EST

and, as such, is of interest. Moreover, his androgynous good looks have made him a "teen heart throb." As for the music, his use of YouTube videos amped up his teen pop appeal. Some like it.

: for my part, it has nothing to do (none / 0) (#8)
by Jeralyn on Sun Feb 02, 2014 at 01:34:19 PM EST

with Bieber per se, it's the rush to judgment against him caused by the media storm. I doubt I could even name one of his songs.