Hilton's Check Out Time

By: Andrew Cohen
Topics: Field Notes

(CBS)

Lawyer Andrew Cohen analyzes legal affairs for CBS News and CBSNews.com.

Let's get one thing clear. I cannot stand Paris Hilton. I despise everything she stands for and, to be quite honest, I don't find her attractive or intriguing in the least. But I am not going to add my voice to the chorus singing meanly today about the unfair, unjust "sweetheart" deal she received today when she was released early from prison due to some sort of medical condition. Why? Because the truth is that if she were you or I she never in a million years would have been sentenced to such a long prison term to begin with.

First, she was given a 45-day sentence for violating the terms of her probation by driving with a suspended license. Just imagine what our world would look like if everyone caught driving with a suspended license while on probation caught six weeks in jail. Then, under California sentencing guidelines, that sentence was cut in half. Even then, at 23 days, it was longer than any first-time, non-violent probation offender would have a right to expect in the form of punishment.

Now, after five days in the pokey, she gets out of jail but will have to serve another 40 days—the full term of her original sentence—under house arrest. Did the princess get a break because she knows how to whine to the right people and in the right way? Did prison officials and prosecutors agree to the deal because they no longer wanted to deal with the hassle of housing Hilton in some special needs section of the prison? Does she really have a medical condition? Who knows. And, really, who cares?

The point is that you can't argue that she got a break today because of her celebrity without acknowledging in the first place that her celebrity is what put her in prison. Her judgewanted to make an example of her—and he sure did. I think it is inevitable for judges or prosecutors to see high-profile defendants not just as individuals but as means to an end—the end being some sort of deterrent to others to avoid certain conduct. The judge hoped he would not only teach Hilton a lesson—and who among us wouldn't want to do that?--but also teach everyone else out there on probation to get their driver's licenses updated. Message received, judge.

It might have been messy—what about this woman's life isn't?—but now Paris is out of prison at roughly the same point she would have been out of prison had her name been Jane Doe or Andrew Cohen or whatever. That's not cause for outrage. That's cause for satisfaction. Celebrities are people, too. Even celebrities like this one.

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by meg1946 June 9, 2007 11:01 PM EDT: THERE HAVE BEEN ADULT CASES IN THE STATES THAT I LIVE IN WHERE BY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TICKETED WITH MORE THAN ONE OR TWO DUI"S THE END RESULT IS THERE HAVE BEEN ONE TO MANY VEHICULAR HOMICIDES
DUE TO THE INTOXICATED DRIVERS THESE PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN OFF MANY TIMES
PARIS IS A CHILD THAT NEEDS TO REDIRECTED SHE AN HER FAMILY COULD DO ALOT FOR THE CAUSE OF MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVERS I DO THINK THIS IS ANOTHER JUDGE THAT IS NOT EXPERIENCED AND WANTS HIS OWN 15 MINUTES OF FAME VERY SAD TO
SAY THE LEAST THIS YOUNG THING DOESNT DESERVE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HER
A SHE SHOULD BE SEVERLY REPRIMANDED HOUSE ARREST OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE WOULD BE GOOD
ASKING HER TO PUT HER ENERGY AND MONEY INTO SERVING A PUBLIC CAUSE WOULD BE BETTER; Reply to this comment


by samthetvcat June 9, 2007 7:34 AM EDT: "Although because Paris' sentence is so short, the issue'll might become moot first . . . who knows . . . "
Posted by SamTheTVCat at 06:14 PM : Jun 08, 2007

Update: Apparently, bail is mandatory for misdemeanors being appealed so Paris is going to be out on bail by Monday night. As for Paris' appeal, IF they hear her case on the Constitutional issue, I would guess that the court will revert it back to the 23 days as a compromise. Courts can't really be allowed to grant the full possible sentence without the sheriff having the flexibility to balance his inmate load based, and sheriffs can't really be allowed to override judicial sentences based only on practicality concerns. The sentencing guidelines already address the issue of fairness, and because Paris' 45 day sentence was well within those confines I don't think there's any legal grounds for challenging the fairness of the sentence in relation to the 'average' sentence for dui's in LA county. Who knows whether the court of appeals will take the case though . . . maybe they don't have enough information yet to provide a remedy to the ongoing power struggle between the sheriff's office and the district court . . .

PS I was always skeptical of those claims that cops planted dope on people until they caught it happening on tape in that incident in Chicago . . .; Reply to this comment


by brianbwb-2009 June 9, 2007 7:02 AM EDT: Sorry for the typo, I meant to say "the police in LA and, I suspect most other major cities"...

I gotta cut back on the coffee.; Reply to this comment


by brianbwb-2009 June 9, 2007 6:59 AM EDT: Mr. Cohen,
You obviously have never known life in the lower middle class, sentences longer than that are routinely given for offenses as minor as a marijuana butt in the ashtray of your car, even if it wasn't yours. The police in LA and, i suspect, have incarcerated many Black men and women by tossing a joint into their car, then arresting them for possession, I know two people serving time for this.

Please spare us the rose glasses, some of us know better...; Reply to this comment


by samthetvcat June 8, 2007 9:14 PM EDT: Lisa Bloom - that's her name (Gloria Allred's daughter).

PS Also I'm not sure what is the basis for Andrew Cohen's guess that Paris' appeal doesn't stand a good chance of getting picked up because THIS appeal would actually stand a MUCH better chance of getting picked up because of the power issue between the sheriff's office and the district court. Although because Paris' sentence is so short, the issue'll might become moot first . . . who knows . . .; Reply to this comment


by samthetvcat June 8, 2007 9:05 PM EDT: From the other Paris article:

CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen says that Hilton's lawyers can appeal the ruling and try to get her released earlier.

"At a minimum she probably won't have to serve the full 45 days %u2014 probably won't be punished for the role she played in this sorry episode. But I can't imagine that too many appeals judges will want to rush to her rescue," Cohen says. "The real bad actor here wasn't Hilton; it was the sheriff, the people in charge of the prison, who allowed her to leave jail yesterday without first checking with the prosecutor and checking with the judge. And I'm surprised the judge didn't come down harder on the sheriff and a little less harsh on Hilton."

* * * * *

Say whaaaat?!? Anybody find Andrew Cohen's position difficult to reconcile with his position yesterday without some massive rationalizations?

If CBS really wants to up the quality of their reporting they ought to snap up that CNN analyst BJ Bernstein while/if she's still an independent contractor. An alternative might be Gloria Alred's daughter, I forgot her name - she might actually be a reporter for Court TV though . . .; Reply to this comment


by samthetvcat June 8, 2007 8:41 PM EDT: OOPS! I meant the sheriff seems a little starstruck, NOT the judge!

It'll be interesting to see how much time Paris actually ends up serving. Something must be going on behind the scenes because this sheriff didn't seem concerned about what anybody else thought about his actions BEFORE he released her to home confinement so why should he give a hoot now.

I wouldn't be surprised if Arnie (as in The Governator) had to personally take the carrots and sticks to this guy, letting him know he understands that there's the power issue that's been brewing between the courts and the sheriff's office and that there's a huge problem with overcrowding, but that this isn't the case to be duking it out because it's making the California justice system look like a joke to the rest of the world, which already looks bad because of OJ and Robert Blake already. If Gov. Schwarzenegger offered this sheriff a dinner invite with him and Maria and a pledge to increase the funding in the next budget, I think whatever hold Paris had on this dude is going to be neutralized.

But who knows . . .; Reply to this comment


by amurguz June 8, 2007 8:28 PM EDT: Although Mr. Cohen initially says that he doesn't care for Ms. Hilton, he sure does a good job of defending her, and her poor judgment. It wouldn't bother me so much, his coming to a spoiled little brats rescue, if he would do the same type of defending for those who have no resources, and must rely on the under funded Public Defenders office; throughout this country. It also wouldn%u2019t bother me, her being released early, had it not been for the fact that Ms. Hilton wasn't pulled over just once for violating the terms of her probation, but twice! As such, I think it safe to say that anyone with the kind of resources afforded to Ms. Hilton, on a regular basis, could have had someone drive her to where ever it was she needed to go. Had Ms. Hilton followed the law, and just not driven a motor vehicle for the duration of her punishment; a small price to pay for driving under the influence, none of this circus would be occurring. On top of it we now have a, well grounded, public furor over the apparent ineptness of one governmental department not knowing what the other was doing. I doubt very seriously that the Los Angeles County taxpayers should be happy with their Sheriff for allowing his deputy%u2019s time, and the wear and tear on the county%u2019s automobiles, for the fortune of Ms. Hilton, and all of her baggage; Louis Vuitton or otherwise.; Reply to this comment


by blahblah9948 June 8, 2007 7:29 PM EDT: She was first arrested for drunk driving, then arrested for driving with out a license. I think the Lawyer who wrote this story spent too much time on the golf course and not enough time reading the facts. So driving drunk may be a non violent crime but it's risking public safety. Then being caught twice driving on a suspended license which was revoked for driving drunk shows no remorse for what she did.; Reply to this comment