Case against Britney begins

Britney Spears did not have a valid California driver's licence more than a week after she hit a parked car and drove off, a state investigator told a court today.

The Department of Motor Vehicles investigator was the prosecution's first witness in the pop star's trial for driving without a licence.

Jury selection concluded this morning with the selection of eight women and four men, and brief opening statements followed with Los Angeles City Deputy District Attorney Michael Amerian using only two minutes and calling the case "very straightforward".

Spears' lawyer countered that the singer's residency was anything but simple. She considers Louisiana as her home, and is registered to vote and exercises a homestead exemption on property taxes there, said J Michael Flanagan.

He said Spears was exempted from having a California licence because she did not meet residency requirements. Mr Flanagan also told jurors that Spears had attempted to apply for a California licence months before the accident, but the DMV was unable to take her photo.

Mr Flanagan has said in the past that Spears had a valid licence in Louisiana, which is one of several states where the singer has homes.

But DMV investigator Gary Edmonds said records indicated that she had not applied for a licence as of August 15, 2007.

The case may be brief: Mr Amerian and Mr Flanagan have agreed that Spears was driving on August 6, 2007, when she hit a parked car and left the scene - negating the need to establish that Spears was behind the wheel at the time.

Spears (aged 26) has not appeared in court.

Mr Flanagan said this week that a final decision had not been reached on whether she would appear or give evidence, although he has said that was not expected.

If convicted, Spears faces a jail sentence and a fine, although she has no prior criminal record, so her penalty is unlikely to be severe.

While the singer - whose new single 'Womaniser' is number one in this week's Billboard charts - has not been in court, her star power complicated the jury selection process.

All 31 prospective jurors said they knew of Spears and her exploits. Some referred to her custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline, and one man said he worried about the singer's influence on his daughters.

Spears was originally also charged with hit-and-run, but settled that part of the case.

Mr Flanagan indicated Spears does not want to call Los Angeles home for much longer. He told jurors that the singer is building a new home in Louisiana, and hopes to move back there after she manages to regain custody of her young boys, Jayden James and Sean Preston.

Federline currently has full custody of the couple's children. Spears remains under the conservatorship of her father, James, who controls the singer's personal and financial affairs.