Eminem Case Adjourned Till December

October 11, 2000 -- Eminem's appearance in Macomb Circuit Court Tuesday went smoothly, but the battle between the prosecution and the defense is already starting to heat up — the rap star's lawyers say they won't consider a plea bargain that involves any time behind bars.

Eminem (né Marshall Bruce Mathers III), 27, faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed weapon, stemming from a June 4 incident in which he allegedly pistol-whipped John Guerra after catching him kissing the rap star's wife outside the Hot Rocks nightclub in Warren, Mich.

While the chart-topping rapper stood by, dressed down in an oversized sweater and baggy slacks, his attorneys told Judge Antonio P. Viviano that reports of their client's criminal conduct had been blown out of proportion, and that Mr. Guerra — who has also filed a related civil suit seeking $25,000 or more in damages — is simply out to make a buck.

"[Eminem] absolutely, categorically denies attacking him," Brian Legghio, one of the star's lawyers, told The Macomb Daily. Legghio insists that Eminem was only carrying the weapon because he was out on the town without a bodyguard's supervision, and that it only came out after slipping from his baggy pants.

Both sides are trying to negotiate a plea bargain, but Macomb Country Prosecutor Carl Marlinga — who says he expects to see the case go to trial — won't settle for anything that doesn't involve Eminem spending some time behind bars, a scenario the defense says it won't entertain.

"We're definitely disappointed with the fact the prosecutor wants to seek jail time for a first offense," Legghio told the Daily. "We don't terminate all discussion about it just because of one request by the other side. But we're disappointed and don't consider that appropriate."

Marlinga, who noted Tuesday that Eminem created a "dangerous situation" by carrying even an unloaded gun, has said he will seek at least 17 months of jail time for the star if the case goes to trail.

Judge Viviano adjourned the hearing until Dec. 8.