Rihanna Pictures: Rihanna arrives on the red carpet at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
LOS ANGELES — With Chris Brown facing felony charges stemming from last month's alleged assault of his girlfriend, fellow R&B star Rihanna, many legal experts are weighing in on the case moving forward. Most agree that the prosecutions case will depend on Rihanna's willingness to cooperate.
"So much of [the trial] hinges on the testimony of the victim or her willingness to testify and it'll be interesting to see whether she cooperates with the prosecution or not," Loyola law school professor Stan Goldman told Radar Online. "If she refuses to testify they're probably not going to be able to get in whatever statements she's already made to the police and then they have no case probably."
During a short session Thursday afternoon at Los Angeles Superior Court, the 19-year-old Brown did not enter a plea to the two felony charges against him — assault and making criminal threats. Instead his attorney, Mark Geragos, was granted a continuace until April 6.
If convicted, Brown faces anywhere from probation to a maximum four years and eight months in state prison, prosecutors say.
"The DAs are facing an uphill battle now if Rihanna isn't cooperating," Steve Sitkoff, a Los Angeles defense lawyer and former prosecutor told People. "At this point, her cooperation can make or break the case. But the DAs may not need her if Brown is willing to strike a plea deal."
While prosecutors would likely subpoena the 21-year-old Rihanna in the case, it remains to be seen whether she would agree to testify against Brown. The couple reportedly reconciled in the last week, having spent time together last weekend at the Star Island mansion of Sean "Diddy" Combs.
"The prosecution is very familiar with continuing to prosecute domestic violence cases when the complaining witness changes her mind and doesn't want to testify — they have often in past years sent people to jail or been willing to send people to jail if they refuse to testify," Goldman explained to Radar. "It's just the way the law is constructed. Now there's a real question as to whether they can do that to her."
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