June 9, 2007
Language Department
Paris Hilton Getting Screwed
(Not that I'm fishing for traffic with that title by implying that this is about Paris Hilton's sex life—oh drat! I did it again! Mentioning Paris Hilton and sex in the same sentence. Bad blogger! Bad!)
I think this comment at Public Defender Dude is the best answer I've encountered to the question of whether Paris Hilton is being treated better or worse than an ordinary defendent. It's by a lawyer who routinely handles the same kinds of cases, in the same court, and before the same judge.
Apparently, her actual sentence of 45 days is on the high side, but it's typical of Judge Suaer. He gives that sentence to lots of people who do the same thing Paris did.
However, the area jails are overcrowded, so people sentenced for minor crimes such as this one are routinely let out after serving 10% of their sentence. The judges know this, but they ignore it, because it's not their job to oversee the policies of the jail system. Paris Hilton got the same treatment everyone else gets.
What was different for Paris is that the judge tried in his initial sentence to prevent Paris from getting out of jail early like everyone else. When she got out anyway, he ordered her sent back. Normally, with a non-celebrity, he would neither care nor know that someone he sentenced had been released early. It's only because she's famous that he's still paying attention to her.
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"Normally, with a non-celebrity, he would neither care nor know that someone he sentenced had been released early."
Judges always care when their express, and entirely legal, sentencing orders are flagrantly disobeyed by the sheriff -- who is now inarguably in contempt of court and should be punished for such.
The comment I linked to also claims that it's unusual for judges to impose those kinds of restrictions on sentences. Judge Suaer claims he did it in this case because Paris wouldn't be punished sufficiently by home confinement, yet he doesn't impose that requirement on other wealthy defendants. Only on Paris.
Also, I'm not convinced the judge's sentencing order was entirely legal under California law (although I'd change my mind if I heard otherwise from someone with real knowledge). Many prison systems have been successful in getting the legislature to prevent judicial oversight. I think that's to prevent the prosecution, defense, and judge from creating plea agreements that saddle the prison system with detailed custody conditions for every single inmate.
I don't know. I could be totally wrong, but I just keep getting the feeling that some people see "being tough on Paris Hilton" as a way to gain a little celebrity for themselves.