Jessica White is most often seen lounging on a tropical beach in a teeny bikini or hitting VIP hot spots on the arm of an A-list celeb, but she’ll soon be appearing in an unfamiliar venue—a New York City courthouse.

The SI Swimsuit hottie was busted back in October following an altercation with another woman on a Manhattan sidewalk. Vanessa Kia alleges that the model “pulled the victim’s hair and struck [the victim] numerous times in the face with her hand, causing abrasions, swelling and substantial pain.”

White’s lawyer Mark Heller told RadarOnline, “Jessica was out with a bunch of friends celebrating her new single status. She just ended her relationship with Sean Penn and was celebrating.” He added that a surveillance tape proves that Kia was the attacker, not his client, saying White “did absolutely nothing wrong. [Kia] threw herself at [White’s] group, and started pushing and fighting with them. It’s really horrifying that taxpayer money is really being wasted on this. She’s a nasty, angry person. The video shows she was running after my client from behind. She recognized she was Jessica White, and was shouting, ‘You’re a celebrity. I’m going to take you down.”

White must think the tape will exonerate her, since she’s already turned down a plea deal and will go to court on May 17. Who knew that the life of a swimsuit model could be so full of action! See more of Jessica after the jump.