Chris Brown's Assault Trial Delayed for Months

When Christopher Hollosy, Chris Brown's bodyguard, was found guilty by the court on Monday, pushing Brown's own trial back until Wednesday, we knew that couldn't be a good sign. The singer is being tried in DC for his assault on a man outside of the W Hotel last October and between his 2013 arrest and his 2014 court date there has been nothing but bad news. He was already on probation in Los Angeles at the time for his assault on Rihanna in 2009 and breaking that probation got him sent to anger management rehab. Brown was kicked out of rehab and sent to jail for a rules violation, where he's been ever since. The trial was supposed to resume Wednesday, but Brown's trial has been delayed for months to give his bodyguard time to appeal his guilty verdict. Hollosy is understandably unwilling to testify on behalf of Brown when it could lead to incriminating himself in his appeal.

A delayed trial sounds like it should be a good thing. The more time that passes between the crime and the court date, the hazier the details get, the more circumstantial the evidence, and the higher the chance that the impact of the incident has eased a bit from people's minds. However, in Brown's case, a delayed trial is just another bad sign. Brown is going to be flown back to Los Angeles and held there until his hearing on June 25, which means one of two things: he's going back to jail or he's going back out on the streets to potentially violate another probation.

Brown has already proven that jail isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy haven of sunshine and rainbows. Oh, sure, Brown can make a music video while incarcerated, but his lawyer has failed at paying off the alleged victim to settle out of court, which means that Brown might actually have to defy celebrity stereotypes and serve his full sentence. At least for now. He's run out of Get Out of Jail Free cards and, to be honest, we haven't heard any news of him getting into any fights while he's been in there, so he's already doing better than he had been out on the streets.

The other alternative is that Brown does somehow find a way to spend the next two months walking free. His current legal troubles were compounded by the fact that he was already on probation for another assault when the most recent one occurred. Brown's lack of impulse control and notorious temper might work against him again in what seems like a short time. By the time June 25 rolls around, the trial might have to be delayed a third time because Brown is on trial in yet another state for yet another assault.

Chris Brown needs help. Saying that he had reformed didn't work. Going to rehab didn't work. I'm not saying that remaining in jail is going to be what finally prompts him to turn his image around, but it doesn't seem to be hurting him so far.