The People v. Bieber: The court cases

Justin Bieber had a rough 2013, and 2014 doesn't appear to be shaping up much better. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searched an airplane -- thought to be the one pictured -- carrying Bieber and others on January 31, at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Officers said they detected an odor of what seemed like marijuana after the plane landed, law enforcement sources told CNN. It's just the latest development in a series of troubles for the pop star.

Bieber turned himself in at a Toronto police station on January 29, facing an assault charge stemming from an encounter with a limousine driver in December.

On January 23, Bieber was arrested on suspicion of DUI and drag racing, according to police in Miami Beach, Florida. Bieber is seen here with model Chantel Jeffries the night before his arrest.

On January 14, authorities swarmed Bieber's mansion in Calabasas, California, in connection with an investigation into a report of an egg-throwing incident at a neighbor's house. A friend of the singer's was arrested on a felony drug charge, and Bieber's phone was seized as part of the investigation.

Right before 2014 kicked off, Bieber threatened to retire after a spate of bad publicity, including being accused of everything from speeding to spitting. The news made Beliebers very sad.

While on tour in early November, Bieber yet again made headlines, this time with some sex-related scandal. The New York Post's Page Six alleged that Bieber had been spotted exiting a brothel while in Brazil. Then, a YouTube video sparked gossip that he'd done something less than innocent with the young woman featured in the clip. Bieber's camp has had no response on the chatter.

Was he saving his energy for his fans, or just courting more controversy? In October, the day after a concert in Beijing, Bieber was snapped letting his bodyguards carry him up the stairs at the Great Wall of China.

A leaked video in July seemed to show Bieber relieving himself in a janitor's mop bucket and then spraying a photo of Bill Clinton with what appeared to be a cleaner fluid while saying, "F*** Bill Clinton." Bieber later apologized to the former president, but personalities like Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali had a field day.

In June, another chapter was added to Bieber's history book of driving drama. The singer was reportedly involved in a Los Angeles accident involving a pedestrian.

As Bieber accepted the Milestone Award at the Billboard Music Awards in May, "very loud boos" competed with "very loud cheers," the magazine reported.

Earlier in May, a fan rushed Bieber on stage and attempted to grab him during a concert in the United Arab Emirates. Also that month, a safe in a stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, was raided after a Bieber performance.

In April, Bieber visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam -- and was promptly criticized for saying that he hoped the teen, who died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, would have been a "Belieber." Visitors to the Anne Frank Facebook page had plenty to say. "Glad he went, but, the last sentence is VERY self serving. he missed the lessons of Anne totally," wrote one observer.

Bieber lost his pet monkey, Mally, when the capuchin was taken by custom officials in Germany at the end of March. Mally is shown here in the quarantine station at the Munich-Riem animal shelter in Munich.

Unfortunately for Bieber, his 19th birthday in March was kind of a downer. After being snubbed by the Grammys, Bieber headed for London to celebrate his big day. But it ended up being what he tweeted was his Not only was he ragged on by actress Olivia Wilde for going shirtless in the city, he also had a bit of beef with a "weak a** club."

Bieber ticked off his fans in March after he showed up a reported two hours late to a concert at London's O2 Arena. He disputed that in a tweet, however, saying he was only 40 minutes behind schedule.

Bieber later wound up sick in a London hospital. Being a lusted-after star, it's not surprising that he tried to show how "well" he felt by posting a shirtless photo of himself online.

Bieber and photographers, we've learned by now, don't mix. As he exited the hospital at the end of his turbulent week, the singer got into a shouting match with a paparazzo in London, telling the photographer that he'd "f*** him up."

After he was ragged on by Wilde for going topless in London, Bieber strolled through a Polish airport terminal sans shirt on March 25.

At the end of January 2013, a Twitpic appearing to show the singer touching a female fan's chest went viral. Both the "Belieber" and Bieber's rep denied he was touching her breast.

In January 2013, Bieber was photographed holding what TMZ identified as marijuana. He poked fun of the incident when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in February. "I also heard he got busted for smoking weed and he's really sorry about it and that people make mistakes and that he's never going to do it again," Bieber said while playing a character during a skit with Vanessa Bayer.

On New Year's Day in 2013, a photographer was killed crossing the street after taking pictures of Bieber's Ferrari. Bieber, who wasn't present at the scene, said in a statement: "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim."

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• Bieber's Miami DUI case could be headed to a trial, lawyer says


• No plea offer, but Bieber could choose a "diversion" program, Miami prosecutor says


• Taking the Toronto assault charge to trial is not Bieber's best option, a lawyer says


• Los Angeles prosecutor nears decision on whether egging case is a felony

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Justin Bieber's focusing on making new music in the hip-hop capital of Atlanta, while lawyers in three other cities prepare to defend him in court.

Bieber, who graduates from being a teen pop star when he celebrates his 20th birthday Saturday, has several court dates on his calendar next month.

Miami DUI case

There are good reasons that Bieber's lawyers could reject a plea deal and demand a jury trial for the drunken driving charge in Miami, according to a Florida lawyer familiar with the case. Lawyers sometimes beat the charge in court.

A lawyer can defend a DUI charge by focusing on the technical aspects of the arrest and testing, questioning whether police did everything right, attorney Michael Salnick told CNN. If problems or deficiencies are found in what law enforcement did, those issues could be challenged.

Was there probable cause for police to stop the singer's Lamborghini? GPS tracking data suggests the sports car was not speeding in the minutes before the arrest. If the judge lets a jury hear that, it might create reasonable doubt about the police officer's claim he stopped Bieber and friend Khalil Sharieff after seeing them drag racing on a residential street.

Was there probable cause for the officer to test Bieber's sobriety? The arresting officer said he became suspicious because he smelled alcohol on the singer's breath, but lab tests later showed the alcohol level in his system was well below Florida's legal limit for drivers under the drinking age of 21. Bieber's lawyer could argue that the officer made it up to justify the arrest. His defense might be bolstered if the judge allows the officer's disciplinary record to be used to challenge his credibility.

While the alcohol level was below the legal limit, a preliminary toxicology report on Bieber's urine sample said he tested positive for "metabolite of THC," which indicates marijuana use, and alprazolam, the generic name for the prescription sedative Xanax. "Yeah, we were smoking all night at the studio," the singer told a police officer who told him he "reeked of marijuana," according to police documents.

No-risk trial in Florida

Defendants sometimes accept plea deals because they fear a judge would impose a tougher sentence if they were convicted in a trial. That's not a risk with Florida's DUI law, Salnick said.

A judge would not give a sentence any different than what a prosecutor might offer in a plea deal, but a plea deal might allow the DUI charge to be kept off the defendant's criminal record, replaced by reckless driving, he said. Probation rules -- including a drug-testing requirement -- would be the same.

So, why go to trial? An acquittal would be Bieber's only way to avoid probation and drug testing, short of persuading the Miami prosecutor to drop the case, Salnick said.

The prosecutor in Miami has not discussed a plea agreement with Bieber's lawyer, Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade state attorney's office told CNN Tuesday. "It's way too early to offer a plea deal, if one was to be offered."

Bieber could choose the DUI diversion program that is available to all first-time offenders, Griffith said. It would last between six and nine months with random drug testing, about $1,000 in fines and fees, 40 hours of community service, an alcohol education class. In addition, Bieber would have to attend a session in which victims of DUI wrecks tell their stories.

"There are 11 stories presented by real victims and sometimes defendants who relay their experiences," a description of the three-hour session said. "There is a quiz at the end, and the defendant has to score 100 percent prior to completion."

Deal or no deal, first-time offenders rarely go to jail if convicted of drunken driving in Florida, Salnick said. Bieber is likely not facing jail, unless he violates probation -- such as by failing a drug test.

A trial had been scheduled to start next Tuesday, but instead a "sounding" hearing will be held with lawyers talking to the judge about preparations for a trial.

Toronto assault charge

Bieber's best resolution of an assault charge in Toronto may be a plea deal that includes a "diversion" plan, according to a Canadian lawyer interviewed by CNN.

"If he goes to trial, he probably would be convicted," said attorney James Morton, a past president of the Ontario Bar Association. "The Canadian system's conviction rate is extraordinarily high." Just 3.5% of all defendants who plead not guilty and go to trial are acquitted, he said.

Bieber allegedly struck his limousine driver on the back of his head several times while driving to a Toronto nightclub in December.

Toronto prosecutors are likely already talking to Bieber's lawyer about a plea deal with a "conditional discharge," in which the case would not be prosecuted if he takes part in anger management and community service, Morton said. It's the likely result for a young person without a criminal record who is not a celebrity, he said. Prosecutors will be under "intense scrutiny" and will want to avoid a deal that "looks like they're favoring a famous Canadian star," he said.

The first court hearing is set for March 10, but Bieber does not have to be there. A magistrate will hold several hearings over the next few months to make sure the prosecution has handed over all of its evidence, including statements and any video, to the defense before the case is assigned to a judge for trial, Morton said.

California egg probe

Bieber faces a possible vandalism charge in connection with eggs tossed at his neighbor's home last month, which caused an estimated $20,000 damage to a Calabasas, California, mansion.

The egging case is what lawyers call a "wobbler." The Los Angeles County district attorney's office could prosecute it as a misdemeanor or a felony under California law. It is up to the prosecutor to decide how serious the case is, based on a defendant's criminal history and other circumstances. A prosecutor has had the results of the sheriff's investigation for almost three weeks, and a decision could come soon.

A felony vandalism conviction could bring up to three years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor conviction is a year in the county jail and a $50,000 fine. A felony conviction could also limit Bieber's ability to work in the United States, because he is a Canadian citizen with a work visa.

Investigators searched his $6.5 million home last month, seizing the security video. Detectives gave the district attorney video clips identified from the night of the egg attack to use in the prosecution of Bieber. Another video recorded by the neighbor was also provided to investigators.

Flying high?

The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into allegations that Bieber and other passengers onboard a charter flight from Canada to New Jersey's Teterboro Airport on January 31 interfered with the flight crew, the agency said.

Bieber and his father were "extremely abusive verbally" to the flight attendant on the Gulfstream IV aircraft as he traveled to attend the Super Bowl, according to a law enforcement sources. Both Biebers refused a pilot's repeated warnings to stop smoking pot on the flight, according to a report by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which was read to CNN.

The FAA has not said when its investigation will conclude.

CNN's John Couwels contributed to this report.