Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Paul Simon Escapes Charges in Domestic Spat

Prosecutors have decided not to go forward with charges against Grammy Award-winning musicians Paul Simon and Edie Brickell after the couple had a fight in April at their Connecticut home, a court clerk said on Tuesday.

Simon, 72, and Brickell, 48, who married in 1992, were scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court for a third time before Judge William Wenzel, who had denied their plea to keep cameras out of his courtroom at their last appearance on May 16.

At that time, the pair told the judge that the spat was atypical of their relationship and that they posed no threat to one another.

Disorderly conduct charges were filed against the couple after New Canaan police were called to a cottage on their property in the wealthy Connecticut suburb on April 26.

On Tuesday however, prosecutors said that they would not pursue the charges, Deputy Court Clerk Emmy Kalmanidis said.

“The prosecution will not proceed with the charges and it will be (discontinued) sometime later today by the judge,” Kalmanidis said.

Kalmanidis added that the case could be reopened at any time within the next 13 months.

Simon had attempted to leave the cottage, Brickell blocked the door and the incident escalated into a shoving match, their attorney said.

Simon was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 for his work as part of the duo Simon and Garfunkel, which produced hits including “The Sound of Silence,” and is a member of The Songwriters Hall of Fame, according to his website.

Brickell, best known for the 1988 hit “What I Am,” released by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, won a Grammy this year with comedian Steve Martin for their bluegrass song “Love Has Come for You.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.