Willie Nelson: Special Treatment In Texas?

Willie Nelson has copped a plea following his latest drug bust, reducing his marijuana possession charge to possession of drug paraphernalia and saddling him with just a $500 fine, according to the country star’s lawyer. As part of the agreement, the charge will be dropped from Nelson's criminal record if he stays out of trouble for 30 days, according to attorney Joe Turner.

Whether the prosecutors in west Texas will be able to stay out of trouble is another matter entirely. The prosecutor handling the case initially irked the judge by suggesting Nelson could pay just a $100 fine if he'd serenade the court with his 1975 hit "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain."

Nelson Judge not Star-struck

Judge Becky Dean-Walker vetoed that offer when it surfaced in March, insisting, “My court is not a jester court. I understand that people are star-struck, I'm not one of them.”

That was nothing compared to comments the prosecutor made shortly after Nelson was charged with marijuana possession back in November. The prosecutor joked that while Nelson was initially charged with possession of six ounces of pot, which would put the case out of his jurisdiction, he and the sheriff smoked or threw out enough to bring it into his jurisdiction. Then Hudspeth County Attorney C.R. "Kit" Bramblett told CNN in March, “You can bet your ass I'm not going to be mean to Willie Nelson.”

Nelson was originally arrested after US Border Patrol agents searched his tour bus on a highway in Hudspeth County, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s certainly not his first brush with the law. The country crooner has long been an outspoken proponent of legalizing marijuana and has made little secret of his personal pot use.

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