Britney's Mom Licensed to Defend

The following italicized article is from www.eonline.com:

Lynne Spears may be a brand-spankin' new grandma but that doesn't mean her motherly duties are taking a backseat.

Backing daughter Britney's bid to dismiss a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license in a 10-month-old hit-and-run case, the Lynne Spears filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court continuing to maintain the singer's faultlessness.

And Spears' attorney Michael Flanagan told E! News there was a simple reason why Lynne, and not Britney, filed the paperwork.

"Britney is not really competent to provide a declaration," he said.

"Plus, if I provide a declaration by Britney, then the prosecution has the right to cross-examine. I don't want to give them the right to cross-examine her. And they cannot call her to the stand, because this is a criminal case, and she has a privilege not to be called to the stand."

In the declaration, filed as part of Flanagan's Wednesday motion to dismiss the charge, the elder Spears offered a rather convincing rationale as to why her daughter did not have a California license when she bumped into a parked car last August: She doesn't consider herself a California resident.

"I am informed and believe and based thereon allege that she was unaware at the time that any damage had occurred at the time of [the accident," the document reads. "Britney was totally unaware of any legal reason why it was necessary for her to have a California license."

Lynne goes on to say that while her daughter "has spent a majority of her time over the last five years in the state of California," she only did so out of necessity both in part for her work and "primarily with respect to a custody dispute currently ongoing."

"Although Britney has owned her house in Beverly Hills for more than a year, she has also owned her Louisiana residence for eight years...Britney's sister Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's father Jamie Spears, and I, all possess a Louisiana driver's license and consider ourselves residents of Louisiana despite the fact that each of us spend a considerable amount of time in California."

While Louisiana roots apparently run deep in the Spears' household, Lynne still pointed out that, once her daughter was informed of her need for a state license, she wasted no time in hightailing it to the DMV.

"Britney still intends to return to Louisiana, but she has acquiesced in the [court's] position that she have a California driver license."

Case closed? If only.

The next hearing on the matter is set for Aug. 11.

Source: E! Online