<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Mel Gibson may be safe from the slammer.\r\nThe actor&amp;apos;s lawyer Blair Berk tells TMZ that Gibson will appear in court Friday and plead no contest to simple battery. This is a significantly lesser charge than corporal injury on a spouse, and TMZ, citing sources, reports that the star could avoid jail time altogether.\r\nThe Braveheart star, 55, is accused of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, 40. The two estranged parents have been in a nasty, very public custody battle for their 16-month-old daughter Lucia. Over the spring and summer, taped phone conversations between the warring exes-- in which Gibson famously spewed racial epithets and vicious threats against Grigorieva-- stormed the web.\r\n\r\nGibson is also the father of seven other children by his soon-to-be ex-wife of 28 years Robyn Moore. The two split in 2009, but their divorce has yet to be finalized.  &amp;#xA0;\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I know from almost 20 years as a criminal defense lawyer that sometimes justice can come for a client at too high a personal price,&amp;quot; Berk explained. &amp;quot;That is particularly so for Mel, whose right to due process can only be exercised in this case with an enormous media circus attached.&amp;quot;\r\n&amp;quot;Mel&amp;apos;s priority throughout all of this has been the best interests of his young daughter Lucia and the rest of his children be put first in any decisions made,&amp;quot; Gibson&amp;apos;s lawyer continued. &amp;quot;It is only with that in mind that he asked me to approach the District Attorney with a proposal that would bring all of this to an immediate end.&amp;quot;\r\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/report-mel-gibson-may-avoid-jail-time-with-plea-deal-201193>