Steven Slater Appears in Court, Begs for Mercy
Steven Slater—the JetBlue flight attendant who stormed off the job via inflatable slide—reported to court today as he negotiates with prosecutors to avoid jail time. While awaiting their moment before the judge, Slater's lawyer shared some new details.
Slater's lawyer claims his client "voluntarily resigned" from JetBlue on September 1. (This contradicts previous reports that he was fired.) Slater's lawyer and prosecutors have also both indicated that a plea deal has been discussed, which would keep Slater out of jail but would require him to attend anger-management classes and seek alcohol-abuse counseling. It's still unclear, though, whether this the deal that the prosecution will submit to the judge today, or whether they'll argue for some punishment.
In the above picture, Slater walks with his publicist Howard Bragman, banner publicist to Hollywood's gays. Asked whether Slater is guilty, Bragman said, "That's for the court to decide." [NBC-NY, NYT, image via AP]