Hilton's Check Out Time
(CBS)
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 judge wanted 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.
On a side note it has boosted her celebrity status to an apex. I cant imagine her doing anything to gain as much media attention as she has.
Even I feel sorry for her.
Wrong! She got 45 days for arogantly flaunting the law. She didn't need to drive. Unlike most of us, she could have hired a driver to take her anywhere, anytime.
But no, she had to let the world know that she thinks she's better than the rest of us, and flaunting the law is just one way the wealthy do that.
Just what was the her probation for, Mr. Smarty Lawyer? Wasn't it alcohol-related reckless driving?
And what did she do to violate that probation, Mr. Smarty Lawyer? "Police said they saw her blue Bentley Continental GTC speeding with its headlights off." Hmmmmm!! Seems that Ms Hilton has a problem doing what most of us take for granted--obeying the law! Plus, she's a menace to other people using the streets and highways. That includes me, and, unless you ride around in an armored HumVee, it also includes you. LOL!!!
She deserved each and every day of that 45-day sentence.
OBTW: You're not so smart either. You shouldn't use the same word (caught) twice in the same sentence.
I agree with 'down-ndirty'. Hilton got jail sentence for violating the terms of her probation; not only driving while disqualified but also SPEEDING and WITHOUT LIGHTS! Mr Cohen wrote: "..at 23 days, it was longer than any first-time, non-violent probation offender would have a right to expect.." A right to expect? Imagine Mr Cohen if Hilton had hurt or even killed one of your loved ones either when she was drunk or speeding without lights when she wasn't allowed to drive! It is a really dangerous thing to do to play down the seriousness of her actions. She even had the audacity to claim that she didn't know she was still on probation. What? Her lawyers didn't explain it to her? It was not her celebrity that put her in jail as you suggested but her behavior and total disregard for the law!
You also wrote: " Did the princess get a break because she knows how to whine to the right people..? Did prison officials and prosecutors agree to the deal..? Does she really have a medical condition? Who knows. And, really, who cares?" Mr Cohen, are you suggesting society shouldn't care at all if they've been lied to and if rich people can play the system to get special treatment? Can all inmates with 'medical conditions' get out of jail so easily and quickly?
Ric Martinez
Sacramento, CA
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Actually it was only 3 days.
I would agree that is probably true for the "average" responsible person. However, Hilton is neither average nor responsible. She's incredibly stupid and totally irresponsible. If not for her wealth, she would be just another dumb bimbo.
Hilton was put on probation for drunken & reckless driving and given a chance to prove that she could obey the law. She proved that she couldn't obey the law and faced the maximum sentence for reckless driving and driving without a license.
Late breaking news!!! Hilton may end up back in jail. Hooray!! I hope so. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more. What a *** she is!!
Posted by dirtydog55 at 09:06 PM : Jun 07, 2007
The missing "starred word" word is s l u t LOL!!
The LA County Sheriff has made a mockery of the justice system.
You can bet your asss that if the judge said you will do 23 days then you WILL do 23 days. Do you think the sheriff would let YOU out after only 3 days? Ha Ha Ha Ha!! Dream on!!
I wonder what will happen WHEN someone gets killed because somebody had to drive drunk or DUI. I hope Paris and the others "that are going to jail" think about that. That would be the worst prison of all.
It's really sad.
The very best punishment for Paris is to deny her any publicity, via any means, for 43 days.
This whole thing is so disgusting, my gag reflex has been worn completely out.
Now, I know that Florida is living in the dark ages when it comes to the judicial system, but, how can you think that VOP is not a serious issue?
This woman needs to go to jail and stay there for the duration of her sentence.
If she has a medical problem, she can see the nurse. Oh wait, here in Florida, a nurse stood by and watched as a young boy was beaten to death by the corrections officers.
Paris should be afraid - very afraid!
First, she'd pleaded no contest in January to reckless driving. That was in response to her Sept. 7th arrest. She was drunk enough to seem visibly drunk and failed a sobriety test. She had a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent. That was a DUI violation.
For that she was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. Even after that, she had two other traffic stops and did not enrol in the mandated alcohol education program.
With her license suspended she was pulled over again on Jan. 15th. She signed a document acknowledging that she was not to drive. A month later, on Feb. 27 she was stopped again, speeding with no headlights at 11pm. The judge had the discretion to give her up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. She got half that and got time off for "good behaviour" even before she'd put one foot in front of the jail.
Some people might get lighter sentences. Many of us know people who've done a lot less than this and got stiffer ones. It simply isn't the case, given the REPEATED, flouting of the law, that she
got an unfair deal. Nor was this ONE lapse of judgement. To go to jail and get out after a few days because it made you cry is a legal travesty. or three. Not only should law be enforced, it should be SEEN to be enforced.
You have said it correctly once again. This just proves that you are a fair and honest person, who deserves respect."
Posted by george2221 at 02:04 AM : Jun 08, 2007
WOW once again I don't mean to be mean, but I think the larger issue with regards to whether celebrities get preferential treatment is whether the punishments for certain crimes such as dui's ought to be somehow scaled to one's net worth (the law in some other countries - somebody from Australia or somewhere mentioned this in a previous Paris article). I think this was what the judge was trying to do when he actually sentenced Paris to time in jail.
I'm not sure which sentencing guideline Andrew Cohen is referring to specifically that dictates that "under California sentencing guidelines, that sentence was cut in half" because when I checked the codes, the only guideline in place for violating probation by driving with a suspended license is to impound the person's car. Now, here is where the Paris Hilton wealth factor renders the sentencing guidelines impotent because if they impounded her Bentley, she's got the $$$ to go out and by a couple more without a second thought. So given the unique situation of Paris not only having the wealth to render the 'fair and equitable' treatment totally worthless as applied to her, but also the celebrity to give her young fans (?!?) the mistaken impression that dui's have no consequences, I think there's a real issue of what the law perhaps OUGHT to be.
Apparently tomorrow, the judge hopes to hold the sheriff in contempt of court. I did a quick Goooogle search to find out the extent of the judge's power, and found a couple of sheriff contempt cases but none where the sheriff was jailed to compel him to act - like I only saw fines. So if all the court can do is fine the judge for non-compliance, maybe it's not a question of whether or not he has the authority but whether or not he can be made put Paris back in jail. I don't think he can.
I couldn't find anything on the appeals procedure for sheriffs being held in contempt, although since State versus State cases are handled by the US Supreme Court, I would guess this would be handled by the Cal Sup Ct (?)
Others should not need to learn from her mistakes. Only she needs to. Hopefully that will happen now.
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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...
I gotta cut back on the coffee.
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 . . .
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by meg1946
June 9, 2007 8:01 PM PDT
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See all 33 CommentsTHERE 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