Ex-Miss USA appears in court on DUI charge

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich.?? Former Miss USA Rima Fakih on Wednesday made an initial appearance in a Detroit-area courtroom in a drunken driving case that lawyers said could be resolved with a plea deal.

Judge Brigette Officer set a March 14 trial date, but lawyers on both sides said they planned to talk in an attempt to end the case sooner.

Fakih, 26, declined to answer reporters' questions after the hearing, which was held in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park.

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"I apologize. My lawyer doesn't want me to talk."

Defense lawyer W. Otis Culpepper said he will prepare for a trial, but knows a plea bargain is possible. He said he anticipates that a "proper conclusion" will be reached.

"Of course she's remorseful," Culpepper said. "She's a model for young women. ... She's a woman of substantial character."

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Before the hearing, assistant city attorney Mohammed A. Nasser told The Associated Press that he hadn't spoken to Culpepper about how they might resolve the case, and he told the judge a plea deal hadn't been offered.

Police said Fakih was driving 60 mph and weaving in and out of traffic without signaling when they pulled her over Dec. 3.

Officers reported finding an open bottle of champagne on the floor behind the driver's seat of her 2011 Jaguar.

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Fakih denied that she had been drinking, but one breath test put her blood alcohol content to be 0.20 percent and another put it slightly lower, but still above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Fakih was born in Lebanon and moved to the U.S. in 1993 with her family. After settling in New York, the family moved to Michigan in 2003. She won the Miss USA Pageant in May 2010, and her reign ended last June.

She was the first Miss Michigan to win the title since 1993 and the first Arab-American winner ever.

More on TODAY.com:
Wisconsinite wins 2012 Miss America crown
New Miss America struggled with family pain
Images of Miss America 2012 beauty pageant

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Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46042581/ns/today-style/

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