Winehouse hopes "stupidity" plea might get her into US

Amy Winehouse has realised that her marijuana conviction in Norway might prove something of a stumbling block if she wants to get into the US to, you know, build an audience and stuff.

So, she's appealing. But, since she had fessed up and paid a fine, she might seem a little short of grounds to appeal.

So, erm, she's pretending that she didn't realise that paying the fine was an admission of guilt.

That raises the question of, if she didn't think she was giving the money and saying "it's a fair cop guv", what did she think the money was for? Did she think she was paying for board and lodging? Or did she assume it was a bribe?

Now she is going to appeal the fine, saying she was interrogated without legal representation or an interpreter and did not fully comprehend the Norwegian language charges she was signing, The Associated Press reports.

Hmm. Why, if you didn't know what the papers were, did you sign them, then? Of course, it's possible that there was a terrible miscarriage of justice, but the hanging question is: if Winehouse was surrounded by people speaking only Norwegian, how did she know the correct amount of cash to pay for the fine?

If the appeal is successful, she could face a full trial for possession of illegal drugs - which, if she loses (possibly on the grounds of having admitted guilt and paid a fine, for example) could see her spending up to six months in an Oslo prison. The good news for Winehouse is that, according to the EU, the Norwegian supreme court is taking a more lenient view of possession for personal use these days than it has historically. It's still a hell of a risk, though.