[Editor's note: Over the holiday season, SonicNet is looking back at 1999's top stories, chosen by our editors and writers. This story originally ran on Friday, Jan. 22.]

Nearly eight months after Scott Weiland was arrested in New York City on drug and trespassing charges, his lawyer expressed hope that the case will be resolved soon.

At a Manhattan Criminal Court hearing Friday morning (Jan. 22), the Stone Temple Pilots singer's attorney, Robert Kalina, received a continuance date of Feb. 16 for his client, allowing the lawyer to discuss the charges and a possible plea bargain with the district attorney prosecuting the case.

"We're hoping to come to some kind of conclusion," Kalina said after the hearing. "I'm hopeful."

The 31-year-old Weiland was not present at this most recent hearing, having been excused during a previous court date Dec. 10. Kalina said he had talked to Weiland earlier in the day; he described the singer as doing "wonderfully."

After leaving the courtroom Friday, Kalina explained that the case could be concluded at the Feb. 16 hearing. The lawyer said that he would enter into discussions with the D.A.'s office sometime before that date to try to reach an agreement on Weiland's plea.

Kalina said that the defense team had had scheduling conflicts with the D.A.'s office, and that the two sides had not yet had a chance to meet to discuss the case.

Christine Hatfield, the acting district attorney on the Weiland case, was not present during the hearing at the courtroom and could not be reached for comment.

In granting the continuance date of Feb. 16, Judge Neil Ross had stern words for Kalina.

"This case needs to be resolved; otherwise it is going to the jury file," Ross told Kalina. "[Weiland] needs to be here [on the 16th], one way or another."

The Stone Temple Pilots frontman was arrested on the afternoon of June 1, the same day he was scheduled to perform a sold-out show at New York's Irving Plaza as part of his first-ever solo tour. The bust occurred at about 3 p.m. as police were conducting a periodic sweep of the Wald housing development on the Lower East Side.

Weiland was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree criminal trespass, each of which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Weiland's court case has seen numerous continuances, which his defense team attributes in part to the singer's residence on the West Coast.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Weiland has been dealing with problems stemming from a separate drug case.

He appeared in a Los Angeles court Wednesday after being taken into custody for violating probation following a court-ordered stay at Impact House, a drug rehabilitation facility. Escaping possible jail time for the probation violation, Weiland was given only a strict admonition by Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler to maintain the terms of his probation. The singer was released Wednesday afternoon and ordered to return to Impact House within 24 hours.

Weiland was first ordered to Impact House after pleading guilty Aug. 12 to a year-old drug charge of heroin possession. He was arrested in September 1997 when, while stopped for a traffic violation, he allegedly was found in possession of heroin and a hypodermic needle.

The singer went on the lam for two weeks last year after skipping a July 9 hearing in connection with the 1997 arrest. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest after Weiland was spotted loitering outside the courtroom on the morning of the hearing. He was picked up July 21 and released the next morning on $250,000 bail.

While Weiland's legal problems have played havoc with his musical activities, the singer recently reunited with Stone Temple Pilots after releasing his 1998 solo debut album, 12-Bar Blues, which featured the

single "Barbarella" (RealAudio

excerpt). He is expected to tour with STP this summer.