Da Brat Civil Trial Stalled by Immigration Issue
Brat, birth name Shawntae Harris, is being sued by an ex-Atlanta Falcons cheerleader for a 2007 fracas that landed the So So Def rapper behind bars.
In court this week, the presiding judge lambasted a juror for lying under oath (three times) about being born in the U.S. The juror is actually a legal resident of the States and attended high school in Georgia.
"You probably cost this county and these litigants probably in the range of $25,000 by lying," the judge said. "By lying under oath and saying you're a citizen and you are not a citizen. You understand that? Twenty-five grand is what you just cost, not to mention the wasted time."
The juror was held in contempt and admitted to the untruths before he was carted off to jail. The judge also declared a mistrial in the case, which started Monday (Feb. 24).
Brat, 39, broke a rum bottle over the head of Shayla Stevens during a Halloween Party at Jermaine Dupri's now defunct Studio 72 nightclub. Stevens, who was a hostess in the club at the time, filed a civil suit in 2009 accusing that Chicago native of causing her "permanent facial scarring, neurological impairment and severe mental pain;" and ruining her acting aspirations.
"Ms. Stevens suffered permanent damage to her face including possible neurological damage, forcing her to relinquish her duties with the Atlanta Falcons and to give up a budding acting career with an appearance on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne television show," her lawyer said in a statement last week.
Brat pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years back in 2008. She was released in February of 2011.
It is unclear when the civil trial will resume.
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(Photo: Jeff Daly/PictureGroup)
