Winehouse gets Norway court date

Singer Amy Winehouse has been summoned to appear in a Norwegian court on January 12 in her appeal against a fine in a drugs possession case.

Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested in Bergen in October 2007 on charges of possessing 7 grams of marijuana.

They were held overnight and released after paying fines of 3,000 kroner (€307) each.

Winehouse ,25, later appealed the fine, claiming Norwegian police made mistakes in the case. An initial trial date in March 2008 was postponed at the request of her lawyer.

Police prosecutor Rudolf Christoffersen said the star and her husband had been informed of the date by British police and will probably have to appear in person in the Bergen appeals court.

“She is the one who appealed, so that makes it her appeal,” he said. “Often, if you don’t appear at your own appeal hearing, then the court will dismiss the appeal.”

Winehouse’s Norwegian lawyer Ole Kvelstad has said that payment of the fine amounted to a guilty plea, which he said could have serious consequences if she tried to enter the United States.

Winehouse was denied a US visa this year when she wanted to perform at the Grammy awards ceremony.