LOS ANGELES (AP) - Attorneys for a deputy who arrested Mel
Gibson on suspicion of drunken driving want to call the
Oscar-winner as a witness during an upcoming trial to determine if
the officer suffered discrimination because of the case.

The trial will focus on what happened to Deputy James Mee after
he arrested the actor-director in 2006, and whether he endured
discrimination because he is Jewish.

Mee's attorneys are hoping to show the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department moved to protect Gibson because the star had a
close relationship with the department before his arrest.

Attorneys for the county have denied Mee faced discrimination or
retaliation.

The case is likely to focus heavily on Gibson's arrest, when the
actor made anti-Semitic comments that Mee claims his superiors
forced him to remove from a report.

Mee also alleges he was ostracized and his opportunities for
promotion were blocked after he arrested Gibson.

Gibson's reputation was damaged for years after details of the
arrest and his anti-Semitic and sexist rant was leaked to celebrity
website TMZ.

The actor apologized for his conduct, and his conviction was
expunged in 2009 after he completed all the terms of his sentence.

Sheriff Lee Baca also could be called to testify, according to a
witness list filed Thursday.

Attorneys for the county are asking a judge to block jurors from
seeing a video of Gibson in a jail booking area and a public
service announcement that Gibson recorded for the agency prior to
his arrest.

Gibson appeared in a deputy's uniform for the spot, and Mee's
attorneys claim it is important context for jurors to consider.

Gibson's work as a spokesman for the department helps explain
"the circumstances that serve as a backdrop to the harassment and
hostile work environment that Deputy Mee suffered," his attorneys
wrote in a court filing. Gibson "wasn't just another arrestee. He
was the `public face' of the department."

Neither Gibson nor Baca have been deposed in advance of the
trial, which is scheduled to begin on Feb. 14. If they are called
as witnesses, Baca's testimony is expected to last about an hour,
while Gibson may spend about 90 minutes on the witness stand.

"He'll do whatever is legally appropriate," Baca's spokesman
Steve Whitmore said. "We look forward to telling the whole
story."

Gibson's spokesman Alan Nierob declined comment.

In all, 28 possible witnesses are listed in a pretrial filing,
but it's unlikely all will testify.

Mee's attorney Etan Lorant said he has been unable to serve
Gibson with a subpoena but may not need to call the actor to the
stand if he is able to show jurors footage from an interview with
Diane Sawyer after the arrest.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Scheper ruled last month that the
case should go to trial if it cannot be settled, but noted that
Mee's attorneys might have trouble proving their case.

"While I think it's thin, I think there are enough facts to
create a question for the jury to decide," Scheper said during a
January hearing.

She noted that Mee remains a deputy, although he no longer
patrols for drunken drivers in the coastal community of Malibu.