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Scott Weiland Released From Prison After Serving 14 Minutes

Posted 5/13/08 11:24 am EST by in trials


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Last month, Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland was sentenced to serve 192 hours (8 days) behind bars, following his arrest in November on a misdemeanor driving under the influence. Yesterday morning, just before 9am, Weiland reported to the Van Nuys, California lockup to begin serving his time.

By 7pm, he was a free man.

Weiland served just 10 of those 192 hours. Of those 10 hours, according to his prison records, he spent a total of 14 minutes in a prison cell. Weiland, who has struggled with substance abuse off-and-on for years [Ed: Understatement!], had until May 28th to serve out his sentence; Stone Temple Pilots’ reunion tour kicks off May 17th in Columbus, Ohio.

On November 21st, Weiland, who recently split with Velvet Revolver on very sour terms, was involved in a non-injury collision on an LA highway. The cops who were investigating the scene reported that he “exhibited signs of impairment,” and he was arrested. This was his second DUI arrest.

In addition to jail time, Weiland was also ordered to complete an 18-month alcohol program and pay almost $2,000 in fines. He has also been put on a four-year summary probation period.

We’ll just have to see how his recent troubles are going to affect the STP dates –- and his solo double-album with producer Steve Albini.

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Decision Imminent In 'Harry Potter' Lawsuit

Posted 5/12/08 4:42 pm EST by in trials


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America's preeminent Harry Potter journalist, our very own Jennifer Vineyard, also happens to be the world's preeminent R. Kelly trial reporter. So we've been a bit lax on covering the latest in Potterland…

It turns out there could be a decision any day now in Potter author J.K. Rowling's suit against the publisher of the unauthorized Harry Potter Lexicon.

The New Yorker ran a sad, little profile of the courtroom trials and tribulations of the Lexicon's author, 50-year-old librarian Steve Vander Ark (he's a Ravenclaw). He transformed from the host of The Harry Potter Lexicon online, praised by Rowling, into the author of a book she’s trying to put the kibosh on. Let’s see if the suit flies. (Wait, was that a terrible pun…?)

(And just for the record, Rowling filed suit against the book's publisher, not the nerdy librarian.)

How do you feel about the Lexicon? Is Rowling within her rights -- or has she totally overreacted?

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The Case Against R. Kelly: An MTV News Special Report

Posted 5/9/08 5:51 pm EST by in MTV News, Music, trials



MTV News has been following the charges against R&B superstar R. Kelly for years now, through several delays, and now jury selection has finally begun in the child pornography case. With the trial itself still days away from beginning, things are already looking dark for the R&B superstar.

As part of our coverage of what is easily one of the most high-profile legal battles of the year -- and possibly one of the most complex -- we’ve updated our original show on the case, “R. Kelly: When the Gavel Drops.”

In this first segment of the show (above), Sway and John Norris walk us through a recap of the charges against Kelly. Part of what makes this case so complex is the fact that the alleged victim, who the prosecution is claiming was 14 years old when she engaged in very graphic sexual acts with Kelly, denies that she is the girl in the infamous sex tape. The prosecution will try to make the case that the young woman (now 24) and/or her family were paid off by Kelly’s people in order to prevent her from ever testifying against him.

And this segment reveals much more -- particularly creepy is the footage of the interior of Kelly’s house at the time he allegedly made the sex tape, as well as images of the custom-designed private room in which the acts allegedly took place.

It’s incredible to think that it’s taken six years for this case to come to trial. And it’s even more incredible to think how much Kelly’s been able to rehabilitate his persona in the meantime, with the runaway success of his oddball “Trapped in the Closet” series managing to turn talk of child pornography into a thing of the past. Does the public have that short of an attention span...?

If he is found guilty, however, there’s only one possible effect this could have on his juggernaut of a career. Simply put, in the words of Dr. Dre in our special: “He’s over.”

In the following segments of the show, we learn how the prosecution plans to establish a “pattern of behavior” in Kelly’s sexual interest in underage girls: not only did he marry Aaliyah when she was only 15, but there were a three other civil suits brought by women who claimed Kelly had sex with them when they were minors.

Tune in when the complete show airs this Sunday at 2pm on MTV2. Or you can watch the other two segments right here online, after the jump. Read More...

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R. Kelly Trial Turns Comedy of Errors For MTV News Crew

Posted 4/25/08 2:38 pm EST by in Behind The Scenes, trials


This is how it happened: An MTV News crew, powerful! and ready!, headed from our NYC HQ out to Chicago to shoot standups in preparation for R. Kelly's trial. (We'll soon be airing an updated version of our initial show on the complex child-pornography case, “The Case Against R. Kelly: When the Gavel Drops.”)

For this reason, Sway found himself, on a particularly windy day, standing on the steps of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse rehearsing for an intro along the lines of "It is here, in this courthouse, that R. Kelly will finally stand trial..." (you know the drill)...When who would stroll right out of the courthouse but Kelly himself.

So we got the exclusive, right?? An amazing candid moment in front of the courthouse in the last tense days before the trial! Um, no. As producer Bernard Lumpkin put it, "We were so busy covering R. Kelly that we missed R. Kelly!"

Sway, who requested that we "slay Bernard," dialed this in from the site:

Comedy, it was classic comedy. I saw him, and I was screaming at the top of my lungs to Bernard, "Yo! Yo!" I’m screaming to Bernard and the dudes -- and they’re playing connect-the-dots with the back of the camera! I felt like I was invisible! I was screaming out into the world.

It got to the point that I had to say something. I said “Rob!,” and he gave me the fist -- you know, the "black power" fist. And I told him I’m going to be here to cover the trial, and he said, "All right."

But none of it was on camera. Bernard's not even looking at me. He's waving a finger at me, like "Not right now," and by the time they all looked up...Rob was gone.

Pure. Comedy.

Oh, Bernard. You're going to have one looooong day in Chi-town...

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