Tiffany Haddish‘s legal team is prepared for their day in court.
The stand-up comedian’s attorneys have been dealing with a pending DUI case for nearly half a decade amid several attempts to have the case move forward. This came after she was found asleep behind the wheel by authorities in 2022.
Tiffany Haddish was arrested a year after a similar incident, but was sentenced to probation and community service. She has since made a conscious effort to stay sober, including time in rehab.
Tiffany Haddish Is Still Battling Her DUI Case After 4 Years
Haddish’s legal reps have all hands on deck trying to get her old DUI arrest dismissed. They have submitted a request to a Georgia court to dismiss the charges on the grounds of time status.
More than four years after the incident, the actress’s attorneys, per court filings, state that their clients’ constitutional right to a speedy trial has been breached by delays in the case, and they are requesting that it be scuttled.
The “Girls Trip” star was arrested in the early hours of January 14, 2022, in Peachtree City, Georgia, after authorities were contacted about a driver on a highway sleeping at the wheel.
Peachtree City Police disclosed in a news release at the time that she was pulled over for stopping in the yard of a home and taken into custody.
Haddish was then taken to the Fayette County Jail and released after she posted a $1,666 bond. Her reps claim that the slow pace of the case has been “presumptively prejudicial” by Georgia legal statutes.
The Actress’s Career Has Allegedly Been Scarred By The Case
The Daily Mail reports that the case moved forward over two years ago after the entertainer’s lawyers filed a motion to suppress. A hearing for the motion was conducted on May 2, 2024, but the court has not entered any orders since then.
Haddish’s lawyers also noted in their filing that prosecutors in Georgia filed motions to continue the case twice last year, yet the case remained at a standstill.
The “Nobody’s Fool” star’s lawyers said in their filing that they have declared themselves “ready for trial” on at least 10 occasions and have followed up with the court on 12 occasions to flag the pending rulings.
They also stressed that because the case is being considered open, Haddish has missed out on “financial compensation” of lost business opportunities.
The lawyers noted that the case has also complicated the TV star’s efforts to obtain travel clearances to film in Australia recently. This travel hiccup allegedly cost the entertainer extra expenses to navigate the challenges.
The Comedian Hopped On The Sobriety Train After Her Second Strike
Haddish was arrested in November 2023 after police officials found her sleeping in her automobile with the engine running, on Beverly Drive, California.
She pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was placed on summary probation for one year, with a mandate to complete 40 hours of community service.
The Blast reported that the comedienne was also mandated to pay the standard fines and court fees and to complete the Driver’s Education Program, as well as the Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s Victim Impact Program and the Hospital and Morgue [HAM] Program.
Two months after the arrest, the Emmy-winning actress-comic disclosed that she was staying off alcohol and weed as mandated by the court, adding that it was no challenge for her.
She noted that she planned to stay clean except on rare special occasions, such as a death in the family, if she wins an Oscar, or gets engaged.
Haddish also noted that she was not addicted to smoking weed at the time as she only indulged in it “on [her] period because it was so painful.” The painful periods are linked to endometriosis, a condition she previously revealed she suffers from.
The ‘Girls Trip’ Star Got Candid About Childbearing Struggles
About three years ago, Haddish opened up about her struggles to have children. She shared that she had suffered one too many miscarriages and has tried to keep that part of her life private over the years.
“Well, I’m going to be honest with you, this would be my eighth [miscarriage],” she said in a previous interview, recalling her conversation with a nurse.
The entertainer further explained that her body has a difficult time carrying a pregnancy to term because she has “a uterus shaped like a heart [and] it just won’t keep anything in.”
At the time, the media personality shared that she was exploring other options, though she was still unsure about becoming a mother.
Adoption was on Haddish’s list as she had invested time in parenting classes to help her prepare. In 2024, she disclosed that she had settled in South Central L.A., where she was housing foster youth, as reported by The Blast.
Tiffany Haddish Was Also In The Foster Care System
The stand-up comedian went into the system as a teenager after her mom suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident. She had a troubled childhood and youth while in foster care, as she was always getting into trouble at school.
Everything changed for Haddish after one of her former social workers, Coleta Lewis, stepped in during a difficult phase of her life and helped her realize her comedic talent. The TV star shared that Lewis was one of the very first people to believe in her and encouraged her to attend the Laugh Factory comedy camp.
“You saved my life, I’m where I’m at right now because of you,” Haddish said while fighting back tears as she reunited with Lewis last year on her comedy show. She noted on the show that her life would have taken a different path if Lewis had not intervened.
The Blast reported that the video of the pair’s reunion made waves on social media, and the comedian reiterated how grateful she was to God for her former social worker. “Coleta, I am forever grateful God made you, and you never gave up on me,” she wrote.