OSLO, Norway - British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse will appeal a fine for marijuana possession, claiming Norwegian police made mistakes in the case, her lawyer said Thursday.
Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested in the western city of Bergen on Oct. 18 and held overnight on charges of illegal drug possession. They were released the next morning after paying fines worth about $715 each on charges of possessing seven grams of marijuana and continued a European tour.
Winehouse's Norwegian lawyer, Ole Kvelstad, said she was appealing to the Gulating district court because she had not understood that, under Norwegian law, accepting a fine is the same as pleading guilty.
"This is an appeal of errors police made in the case,'' he said by telephone.
He said she was interrogated without legal representation or an interpreter and had not fully understood the Norwegian-language charges she was signing. Kvelstad said pleading guilty in a drug case could have serious consequences when Winehouse seeks to enter the United States.
Bergen police attorney Rudolf Christoffersen said she was questioned by an English-speaking police officer, who translated charges and explained the consequences of accepting the fine.
If the appeals court allows Winehouse to withdraw her acceptance of the fine, the original charges would normally go to trial.
Winehouse has spoken openly about her penchant for alcohol and marijuana and her hit single "Rehab'' is an autobiographical tale of her resistance to being pushed to go to rehab: "They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said no, no, no.''
