Remaining Justin Bieber Video at Issue in South Florida Hearing

A South Florida judge will allow the release of remaining police video of Justin Bieber depicting the singer urinating into a cup for a drug test, but will shade or blacken any "objectionable" images

A South Florida judge will allow the release of remaining police video of Justin Bieber depicting the singer urinating into a cup for a drug test, but will shade or blacken any "objectionable" images.
 
Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield ruled on the video at hearing Tuesday afternoon after reviewing the five video clips. Lawyers for Bieber, who turned 20 on Saturday, were attempting to block the video's release as an invasion of privacy.
 
Attorneys for The Associated Press and other news outlets say Florida law requires release of the video and that any sensitive portions can be blacked out.

Altfield said the video was public record but said the exposure of Bieber's genitalia was not relevant and said that the court needed to balance the privacy interest of Bieber against the public's right to know.

 
"He has not lost his expectation of privacy," Altman said. "Mr. Bieber's right to privacy is paramount."

Bieber has pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license following his Jan. 23 arrest.

On Tuesday, Miami Beach Police released new photos of Bieber from the night he was arrested.

Miami-Dade County prosecutors released about 10 hours of police video last week, only a few moments of which depicted Bieber. Bieber was seen walking unsteadily during one of the sobriety tests in the video.

Police say Bieber and singer Khalil Amir Sharieff were involved in an illegal street drag race. Bieber cursed repeatedly at a police officer after the 4:09 a.m. traffic stop and acknowledged smoking marijuana, drinking and taking an unknown prescription medication, police said.


The Miami Beach Police reports, however, show that Bieber was given four alcohol breath tests, with the first two not usable because of insufficient volume of breath.

The third test, administered at 5:37 a.m., showed an alcohol reading of .014 and a fourth, at 5:40 a.m., came up at .011. Both are under the .02 limit in Florida for a driver under the legal drinking age of 21. The limit for drivers above that age is .08.

Police later said a toxicology test detected marijuana and Xanax in his system.

Bieber's trial date has been delayed until the issue of the police video is decided.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us