1. Snoop Dogg

Back in 1993, Snoop was arrested and tried for connection to the death of Philip Woldermariam, a member of a rival gang. Snoop’s bodyguard, McKinley Lee, shot and killed Woldermariam from a moving vehicle that Snoop was driving.

Snoop and Lee were acquitted murder charges on the grounds of self-defense. How, you ask? Easy: they were lucky (and rich) enough to have a “dream-team of lawyers”. One of them was David Kenner, a very well-known defense lawyer.

2. Paris Hilton

A classic case of a lot of money and not a lot of talent to back it up, Paris Hilton got away with a few crimes she committed. She was arrested several times for crimes like driving under the influence, cocaine possession, and (twice!) leaving the scene of an accident.

One time, she backed her Range Rover into a Honda Civic and drove away without leaving a note, which is a crime in California, where the incident happened. It is punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Paris, of course, didn’t have to suffer either of those consequences. However, she eventually ended up doing time in a Los Angeles jail for driving with a suspended license. I guess being rich can only get you so far!

3. Brandy

Remember when Brandy was actually a huge star, back in the late 90’s? Well, long after her golden age, in 2006, she was involved in a fatal car accident in LA. While driving her Range Rover, she hit another car and killed the driver, 38-year-old Awatef Aboudihaj.

 

Brandy hired – you guessed it – a superstar lawyer, Blair Berk, and was neither arrested nor charged with vehicular manslaughter due to insufficient evidence. However, the family of the victim sued Brandy for $50 million and a settlement was eventually reached out of court.

4. Justin Bieber

The Biebs is no stranger to trouble, but he managed to get away with it fairly easily every time. In 2014, 20-year-old Bieber was arrested in Florida by the Miami Beach Police for DUI, resisting arrest and drag racing. His superstar lawyer, Roy Black, arranges a plea deal and Bieber only had to take anger management classes and donate a certain amount of money to charity.

 

In June 2015, Black had to come to Bieber’s rescue once again – this time he was found guilty of assault and careless driving in Canada. He was fined for $600, but the assault charge was dismissed. I wonder, under that same circumstances, what would happen to a person who can’t afford a celebrity lawyer?

5. Rebecca Gayheart

Back in 2001, actress Rebecca Gayheart hit and killed 9-year-old Jorge Jr. Cruz with her car. She pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter, and her attorney, Laura Wasser, got her out of trouble fairly easily.

Gayheart didn’t serve any prison time, but paid only a $2,800 fine. She obviously didn’t mean to kill Cruz, but this deal seems really unfair, isn’t it?

6. Mark Wahlberg

Back when Wahlberg was still Marky Mark, he had a couple of run-ins with the law. When he was 16, he was charged with assault and attempted murder of two men, both of whom he attacked on the same day. His actions left one victim unconscious, and the other blind in one eye. Both of them nearly died!

Wahlberg pleaded guilty to assault, but and was sentenced to two years in jail. Would you be surprised if I told you he was locked up for much less? That’s right – he only served 45 days in prison.

7. Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney was given permission to sit on a policeman’s horse after a performance in Buffalo, during the George Strait’s country music festival. Although the police were happy for him to sit on it they weren’t happy when Chesney tried to ride away on it. When deputies told him to stop this lead to a fight.

The famous country singer, Tim McGraw, intervened for Chesney. Two deputies were injured resulting in both country stars, McGraw and Chesney, to be charged. McGraw with second degree assault, obstructing governmental administration, menacing, and resisting arrest and Chesney was arrested for disorderly conduct.

8. Billy Currington

Billy Currington, the country star (People are crazy) lost his temper when boats decided to circle his house too fast and too often. The singer chased down a 70-year old charter boat captain.

 The country star was charged with “making terrorist threat” and “elderly abuse” and paid $27,700 bond in order to be released. The singer didn’t seem sorry about this whole situation after tweeting “harassing artists often at their home by boat should be illegal. Thas all I know”.

9. R. Kelly

You may remember R. Kelly as a rapper and a singer, but in 2002 he made headlines for something completely different. Back then, a sex tape surfaced showing him with an underage girl. He was charged with 14 counts of child pornography, but was found not guilty.

R. Kelly’s defense attorneys, Sam Adam, Sam Adam Jr, and Edward Genson, convinces the jury that the identity of the girl shown on the tape was inconclusive, even though various prosecution witnesses were able to identify her.

10. Vince Neil

The lead singer of rock band Motley Crue is quite the troublemaker, but in 1986 he was charged with something serious – vehicular manslaughter.

 

He drove drunk and smashed into a car carrying two people. The victims were left with critical injuries and brain damage. Crazy as it may sound, Judge Edward Hinz Jr. only sentenced Neil to 30 days in jail.

11. Matthew Broderick

Back in 1987, after Matthew Broderick took the screen by a storm with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, he took a vacation in Ireland with his co-star and then-girlfriend Jennifer Grey. On August 5, 1987, the couple was involved in a car accident in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Broderick crossed into the wrong lane and collided head-on with a car driven by Anna Gallagher, 28, accompanied by her mother, Margaret Doherty, 63, who were both killed instantly on the scene.

 

Broderick was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced up to five years in prison. However, after he landed some strong criminal defense attorneys, he was convicted of a lesser charge – careless driving – and fined only $175. The victims’ family called this decision “a travesty of justice”, which is very much of an understatement.

12. 50 Cent

Rapper 50 Cent, also known by his real name Curtis Jackson, has been through a LOT when it comes to crime. He was shot, was carrying around guns and drugs since he was 12, filed for bankruptcy… you get the picture. However, let us concentrate on his arrest back in 1994.

 

Only 19 at the time, 50 Cent was arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover officer, and after the police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starting pistol. He was sentenced for nine years in prison, but managed to get his sentence reduced to six months. How? Easy – he snitched on other people in the drug business

13. Michael Jackson

You probably remember the very high-profile lawsuit against Michael Jackson back in 2003. He was booked on multiple counts of alleged child molestation. Two years later the trial began, and many testimonies about Jackson’s lifestyle and relationships with young boys were revealed to the public.

The trial lasted for three months, and in June 2005 Jackson was acquitted of all charges. Many think that Jackson’s relationships with the boys were misunderstood and that people were too quick to judge him. What do you think?

14. Hugh Grant

In 1995, British actor Hugh Grant was already a star thanks to his performances in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sense and Sensibility. However, he found himself making headlines thanks to a very different matter. Grant was arrested in Los Angeles with sex worker Divine Brown after soliciting her for oral sex.

 

Surprisingly (or not), Grant didn’t even have to appear in court and was not sent to jail. Instead, he had to pay a $1,000 fine and attend an AIDS education program.

15. Will Smith

Back in 1989, just before Will Smith became the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he was involved in a little argument that escalated quickly. He was arrested after allegedly assaulting a record promoter, with whom he got into the argument.

 

Smith spent the night locked up in a Philadelphia jail. But eventually the charges against him were dropped. To this day, Smith consistently maintains his innocence and says it was his friend, and not him, who assaulted the record promoter.

16. Robert Downey Jr.

The actor is Notorious for having drug issues, but he was pretty much always let off lightly with the things he’s done. He was released early in 2000 after spending nearly a year in prison for his 1996 arrest. The same year, he was arrested after he was discovered under the influence and in possession of  controlled substances.

 

The year after that, he was arrested AGAIN for walking down the street barefoot and under the influence. Tests showed he had cocaine in his system, but sure enough, he was released and absolutely no charges were laid. Later, Downey Jr. finally checked into rehab and stayed sober this time. Then he went on to starring in movies such as Ironman and was even pardoned by Governor Jerry Brown in 2015.

17. Britney Spears

Even pop princesses can get in trouble sometimes. Back in 2006, Britney was seen driving around with her then 4-month-old son. Nothing unusual here, right? WRONG! Britney’s baby was sitting on her lap, without a child restraint. Talk about responsible parenting… Anyway, Brit was supposed to pay a fine of $100 for breaking the California law, but ended up not paying anything. You would think $100 is peanuts for her.

Later, in 2007, she was charged with a hit and run accident after hitting a parked vehicle and driving without a valid licence. This time she was not even required to pay a fine. She just walked away without any punishment.

18. Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson pretty much revealed his true self when arrested on July 28, 2006. He was driving under the influence of alcohol, and when the officer approached him, Gibson started ranting racial slurs at him. Charming.

 

However, even though it was the second time Gibson was arrested for drunk driving, he only had to pay a fine.

19. Charlie Sheen

Before Charlie Sheen was the mess he is today, he was involved in some other not-so-pretty incidents. Back in 2008 he was hospitalised after overdosing on cocaine, while on probation (which obviously didn’t work). His probation was extended, and then, on Christmas day of 2009, he was arrested for assaulting his then-wife Brooke Mueller and charged with felony menacing and third-degree assault.

 

His lawyer, Yale Galanter, was able to get his previous charges dismissed as part of a plea bargain, and Sheen only had to go through 36 hours of anger management classes, enter rehab for 30 days, and serve 30 days of probation. That’s all.

20. Kobe Bryant

NBA superstar Kobe Bryant was charged in 2003 with sexual assault. 19-year-old Katelyn Faber accused Bryant of raping her in a hotelroom in Colorado, where she was an employee. After Faber refused to testify in court, the charges against Bryant were dropped.

 

Later, Faber filed a civil lawsuit against Bryant. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Bryant apologized to Faber. However, he denied the allegations and admitted no guilt on his part.

21. Mick Jagger

The Rolling Stones’ lead singer was arrested in 1972, when he was 27, for assault and obstructing justice. He was hanging out with Keith Richards, the stones’ guitar player, and a few other friends when he allegedly attacked a photographer.

After being arrested, however, the charges against Jagger were dropped and everyone was released.

22. Laura Bush

The former First Lady was involved in a fatal car crash when she was a teenager. When she was 17, she left a house party in her car and proceeded to run a stop sign. As a result, she smashed her car straight into the car being driven by her classmate, Michael Douglas. He died at the scene, but no charges were ever filed against Bush.

She’s not denying the incident, but there were rumours about her driving while drunk and that the crash could have been a criminally negligent incident.

23. Caitlyn Jenner

In 2015, when Caitlyn was still known as Bruce, she was involved in a four-car accident in Los Angeles. 70-year-old Kimberly Howe was killed in the crash, but Jenner was not charged with a crime after the LA district attorney could not “prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that her “conduct was unreasonable”.

Jenner claims that the paparazzi who followed her that day were responsible to the accident, and even filed a lawsuit against them.

24. Lindsay Lohan

This list would be incomplete without LiLo. After many incidents, including everything from alcohol to drugs to dangerous driving, Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail in July 2010 for violating the terms of her probation. However, she was released after only 14 (!) days behind bars, due to “prison overcrowding”.

As you can expect, while she was in jail Lohan got preferential treatment like getting to have visitors after hours and order special food. Lucky her.

25.  Ted Kennedy

The Kennedys had their fair share of scandals, and JFK’s younger brother Ted was no exception. In 1969, 36-year-old Ted drove his car off a bridge at Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. Kennedy managed to escape the car and left the scene. However, he left his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, to die.

Kennedy didn’t even admit his involvement until the car was discovered by fishermen the next day. The craziest part of the story is that Kennedy was only convicted of leaving the scene, and got a two-month suspended sentence. Kennedy was already a senator at the time, and the terrible accident did not get in his way of staying in office until 2009.

26. Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius gained his fame as a four-time Paralympics gold medal runner. Despite being a double-amputee, Pistorius had a very successful sports career, representing his homeland, South Africa.

 

However, in 2013, the world was shocked when Pistorius was charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, in his home in Pretoria. Pistorius claimed he shot Steenkamp thinking she was an intruder, yet was found guilty of culpable homicide. This sad story ended with Pistorius being sent to only six years in prison.

27. OJ Simpson

The story of OJ Simpson was internationally publicized and was even made into TV shows and movies. Before his trial, Simpson was an NFL superstar, but in 1994 his world turned upside down. When his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman were found dead outside Nicole’s house, Simpson became a person of interest in their murders.

Simpson hired a high-profile defense team, also referred to as the “Dream Team” by the media, and was eventually acquitted of all charges. However, in 1997, a civil court awarded a $33.5 million judgement against Simpson for the wrongful deaths of Nicole and Goldman. However, he paid only a little of the judgement. In 2007 he was arrested again and charged with numerous felonies, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Well, you know what they say about karma – this time Simpson was found guilty and sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment.

28. Johnny Paycheck

Johnny Paycheck turned David Allen Coe’s song “Take This Job and Shove it” into a huge hit. The love of country music wasn’t the only think that these singers had in common. 8 years after turning this country song into an enormous hit, the country singer pulled a .22 pistol and shot a man in his head

Although the bullet only grazed the other man’s skull, it was major enough to give Paycheck a sentence of nine and a half years in Ohio prison, after being pardoned by the governor the singer only served 22 months.

29. Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell, like a lot of other celebrities, was arrested for drink driving in 2003. Instead of accepting the charge, he made matters worse for himself by deciding to knee a police sergeant on the thigh. This added another charge to the singers original drink driving.

The singer  ended up serving a the ten-day sentence with the attitude of “I wasn’t really that drunk”. Later in an interview he said that he believed that his sentence was too long.

30. Billy Joe Shaver

The singer/songwriter has written countless songs, including the majority of Honky Tonk Heroes Album. The singer who turned 75 in 2014 has brought out several new albums in the last few years.

Shaver was accused of shooting a man after a barroom disagreement in Texas. He was overheard asking “Where do you want it?” before the gun went off which influenced fellow artist, Dave Watsons, song “Where do you want it?”. Shaver was acquitted of the charges on the grounds he acted in self-defense.

31. Spade Cooley

The most gruesome crime committed by a country song was the murder of Ella Mae Cooley. Spade Cooley, was a famous celebrity at the time, meaning this trial received a lot of attention. There were rumors of an affair between Ella Mae and Roy rogers, although this was never proved.

The trial resulted in Cooley being convicted of first-degree murder for beating his wife directly in front of their fourteen-year-old daughter. This ruined is reputation as the king of western swing. A title that was given to the memory of Bob Wills. In 1969, shortly before he was supposed to be given parole, Cooley died.

32. Jonny Cash

This singer/songwriter not only ended up in prison but wrote a song about it while he was there. In 1965, Cash found himself locked up in jail twice. The first incident was in October, Cash was stopped in Texas accused of smuggling heroin. He was accused of smuggling 700 uppers and 500 downers into Texas through his guitar case. He received a fine and a suspended sentence for this act.

We could tell you all about his time in prison, but you’ll probably enjoy listening to his arrest and time in the Starkville, Miss. Jail, which he later wrote a song about.

33. Randy Travis

Randy Travis, the country and gospel singer, was arrested in 2012. Travis who was found sitting in an empty church parking lot with a bottle of wine was clearly drunk and pled no contest to the charges. Six months later, the country star was arrested again taking a nap (drunk again) naked on a blacktop road. As outrageous as this is, it was just the end of the story

The police found that the singer had first wrecked his Trans-Am in a construction zone and attempted to purchase cigarettes from a local store … naked. After this the police had received a 911 call reporting him asleep, naked and drunk in the middle of a road. For this long night, the singer received probation and a suspended sentence.

34. Willie Nelson

It’s not unknown that Willie Nelson likes to smoke. So it’s no surprise that has been arrested a few times. Most of his issues with the law come from controlled substances found in his home state of Texas.

With a long list of incidents lasting over five decades, the country singer has not been a stranger to the texas Judicial System. When police stop his tour bus they know what they’re going to find. It’s not a fun game for them but it is a sure thing.

35. David Allan Coe

David Allan Coe has been the star of his own rumors which mostly could never be proved. The first said that he killed a man while incarcerated in the Ohio Prison system. Although these stories could not be proved, there was no doubt that the next story is true.

 In 2008, Coe was caught on camera confronting his deputies in a casino while away in Iowa. After a dispute over a slot machine payout, he was wrestled to the ground and charged with disorderly conduct and interference with official acts. Coe attempted to counter sue but both charges were eventually dropped. 7 years later, Coe was found guilty of tax evasion and will possibly face three years in federal prison and could be fined $250,000.

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