Justin Bieber paparazzo case thrown out by US judge

Criminal charges filed against a photographer who chased Justin Bieber have been dropped by a judge.

Paparazzo Paul Raef was charged in July with two counts of violating a law which makes dangerous driving while taking commercial photographs a criminal offence in California.

He had been chasing Justin Bieber at high speeds on a road in Los Angeles.

LA superior court judge Thomas Robinson called the state's anti-paparazzi law "problematic".

He said the law was too vague in its definition of commercial photographs.

'Protecting celebrities'

If convicted Paul Raef could have faced up to a year in prison and a fine of $3,500 (£2,200).

His lawyer, Brad Kaiserman, said the law was "about protecting celebrities".

The photographer will still face charges of reckless driving and failing to obey police orders.

At the time of the incident, Bieber was stopped by police for driving at 80mph (130kph) in a 65mph (105kph) zone and received a speeding ticket.

He told officers that he was being chased by paparazzi.

The singer called police half an hour later to report that his car was still being pursued.

Raef was later identified by police in downtown LA