Judge: Bobby Brown A 'Role Model'

Calling Bobby Brown a good role model, a traffic court judge on Friday ordered the singer to pay $1,450 in fines for charges including possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Brown, 34, entered no contest pleas to the marijuana charge as well as having no proof of insurance. He pleaded guilty to driving without a license and speeding.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Maurice Bennett, but not his wife, singer Whitney Houston, Brown paid $800 for the marijuana charge, $150 for the speeding and driving without a license charges, and $350 for driving without proof of insurance.

Brown wore jeans and a white T-shirt and was in leg shackles when he appeared in Atlanta traffic court to answer charges from his arrest in the city last November.

Despite Brown's history of legal problems, Judge Calvin Graves praised the singer, who lives in Alpharetta, Ga., as a good role model who has "a wonderful wife" and comes from a good family.

Earlier Friday, Brown was released after serving seven days in DeKalb County Jail. He had been sentenced last week to serve 14 days in jail after he was arrested for a probation violation from an earlier drunken driving conviction.

As part of the agreement with the DeKalb County sheriff, Brown had to undergo a drug assessment at an Atlanta-area facility after his appearance in traffic court.

Brown still has to serve the remainder of last week's sentence: 60 days of house arrest and 200 hours of community service.

He was ordered to serve 30 hours of community service by Graves, but that sentence will run concurrently with the community service ordered by DeKalb County State Court Judge Wayne Purdom.

The singer previously served 26 days in a Florida jail in 2000 for an earlier probation violation.

Brown left R&B group New Edition in the late 1980s for a solo career. His hits include "My Prerogative" and "Every Little Step."