Justin Bieber’s assault charge case has been given a May 12 for the next pre-trial hearing.
The 20-year-old wasn’t required to be at the Old City Hall courthouse in Toronto, Canada, on Monday for the routine hearing where the new date was decided, and he wasn’t.
The 20-year-old was in the US, probably recovering after his surprise appearance onstage during Chance The Rapper’s Coachella set on Sunday in Indio, California.
The duo performed a version of “ Confident ,” a single on the Canadian star’s now deleted, iTunes-released Journals album which dropped in 2013.
Bieber is charged with assaulting a limousine driver, Abdul Mohar, several times in the back of the head after he and and five associates were picked up in the early hours of December 30 from a nightclub in Toronto .
The Crown has chosen to prosecute the offense as a “summary conviction” which is the equivalent of US misdemeanor.
Back on March 10, Bieber’s lawyer — Brian Greenspan — didn’t reveal how his client would plead in the case but told media that “independent witnesses” have said the singer “was not engaged in any wrongdoing.”
At Monday’s session Justin was again represented by Greenspan, who was given additional disclosure in the case by crown prosecutors.
Greenspan said the singer isn’t expected at any court sessions until a trial date which likely won’t be set until the fall, the National Post reports.
The reportedly more sedate atmosphere at Monday’s hearing was in contrast to Bieber’s January 29 appearance, when he surrendered to Toronto police to be charged amid scenes of screaming fans and jostling journalists.
In the US, the singer has been charged with DUI, resisting arrest without violence and also driving with an expired license after his arrest on January 23 in Miami Beach during what police described an illegal street drag race.
Bieber pleaded not guilty to all three charges on January 29 in writing through a lawyer.
After providing a urine sample a toxicology report revealed he tested positive for marijuana and Xanax at the time of his arrest.
A trial date of May 5 has been set for Bieber’s DUI case.
However, recent reports suggest Miami-Dade prosecutors are close to agreeing a plea deal with the singer’s lawyers if he pleads guilty to reckless driving and accepts probation terms.
In addition to in-progress civil lawsuits , the singer is also awaiting a decision by the Los Angeles County District Attorney over a house-egging Bieber is accused of committing in January, which reportedly resulted in damages of $20,000.
(Photo: Bieber and Chance The Rapper onstage at Coachella, Sunday, April 13.)