Bobby Brown to face court

Mr Brown, 33, failed to show up for trial in 1996 after being charged with driving under the influence, failure to show proof of insurance, speeding and failing to maintain a lane while driving.

On Tuesday, Judge Wayne Purdom ordered Mr Brown to return on 25 November to face the court in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States.

Mr Brown - the husband of fellow US singer Whitney Houston - was also told to remain in Georgia and to report to the county's authorities each week until the trial.

Mr Brown's six-year-old charges emerged on 11 November when he was arrested in the Buckhead area of Atlanta and charged with possessing marijuana, speeding and having no driver's licence or proof of insurance.

Mr Brown and Houston, who have been married for 10 years, have a home in the city of Atlanta.

Mr Brown was transferred to DeKalb County after paying an unspecified bond to Atlanta City jail following last week's arrest.

After Tuesday's hearing, his lawyer, Xavier Dicks, said he had held talks with prosecutors in DeKalb County in an effort to resolve the 1996 charges.

"I'm confident that we'll resolve this case, possibly before the trial date," Mr Dicks said.

Fame

Gwen Keyes, a solicitor for DeKalb County, said the maximum penalty the singer could face was a year in jail.

Mr Brown is due to appear in an Atlanta court next month to answer the charges stemming from last week's arrest.

He enjoyed international fame in the 1980s and 1990s with hits like My Prerogative, On Our Own and Two Can Play That Game.

He rose to stardom with the R&B group New Edition, who scored a number one single, Candy Girl, when he was just 14.

He took part in a New Edition reunion in the mid-90s, which spawned a US number one album.

Houston is currently attempting to make a comeback with a new album after a legal ordeal of her own.

She had drug possession charges dropped in March 2001 after being arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession at a Hawaiian airport.