June 7, 2007

Paris Hilton out of jail.

After only 3 days. Some "medical" problem. They won't tell us what it is. Maybe all the other prisoners would fake it.

ADDED: Nicole Richie can stop praying now.

MORE: TMZ says the "medical" problem was an impending nervous breakdown. Is everyone going to fake that now? There's a poll over there, and 93% of the readers are not believing it.

43 comments:

Fen said...

The Sheriff's Department... denied accusations that Paris received special treatment inside and said she would be unable to go to parties or socialise for the time the ankle bracelet remains on.

Yeah right. Sidebet, which will happen first:

1) Paris gets caught partying/socializing

2) GOP betrays border security benchmarks in immigration bill

Fen's read: "Too close to call. Even odds".

Ann Althouse said...

This was easy to predict. I never write about immigration (unless it's forced on me during a debate).

Jennifer said...

Well, it can't be the herpes, as I'm sure she's not the only one in there with it.

This *was* easy to predict, but it's not less disgusting. House arrest in a mansion with a full wait staff at your beck and call is a far cry from justice.

Will she be allowed to leave to conduct business like Martha was?

Drew W said...

Paris Hilton seems to have received a jail term commensurate to her attention span. I'm sure she's fully rehabilitated.

But I had no idea that the threat of incarceration was also hanging over the head of Nicole Richie. I can just hear her sneering to the authorities: "They don't make cells with bars close enough together to keep me locked up!"

Hoosier Daddy said...

Who is she?

blogger said...

Geez, that was quick! I'm glad we posted her mug shot in time!

Think Paris Hilton

MadisonMan said...

I'll guess she's depressed and suicidal.

Revenant said...

I kind of don't get all the hostility to Paris Hilton. Ok, she's rich, apparently not all that smart, and parties a lot. But she doesn't bore me with her political opinions, swap spouses every 18 months, think a successful show means she's a great actress, or do most of the other obnoxious things celebrities so often do.

Ok, so she drives drunk. So does Mel Gibson, and he's a misogynistic anti-Semite on top of it -- yet Paris seems to be more hated. I don't get it.

I'm not saying I like her, but I don't see any particular reason to DISlike her either.

GeorgeH said...

In a few days she will hire a former parole dept technician for a huge amount to move the ankle bracelet from her to the maid without setting it off. Then she will disguise herself by wearing underwear and a wig and be out on the town.

What a farce.

Tibore said...

On the lighter side - LA Times.com's "Paris Hilton Prison Diaries":

Jailhouse musings from the hotel heiress.

Quote: "Day 3: So that's what a bitch slap is. Wow. Just … wow. MUST remember not to make that sarcastic face again anytime soon."

... and

"Lately I'm identifying with the Jews and all the horrible things that happened to them during Vietnam."

Okay... so it's out of date, given that she was just released. Still, though... laugh out loud stuff.

"Brick said to me today, "Ya know, I stayed in a Marriott once. And truth be told, I'd rather stay in prison."

We both laughed. And then she beat me up."

Cedarford said...

Two Americas.

Justice for the rich is a different system than justice for the poor.

Political access and influence is a function of money or being seen by the Ruling Elite as a leader of some element the Mob that can be bought off or co-opted.

Health care is a function of money and position. Wealthy find a way to write off their health insurance plus travel, entertainment, club fees, half their vacations as a business expense on their executive status or as owner of the business. The lesser strata of America has to pay for any of that in after tax dollars, working scum that they are.

Serving the nation in the military is a possible option for the wealthy most pass on. Serving is about the only option in a small town where the Elites have manipulated trade and financial systems so all the manufacturing jobs headed to China.

Heiress Hilton confirms the obvious.

david7134 said...

I see nothing wrong the the descripency in treatments of those who have money. They certainly are not thought of in equal terms when it comes to taxes. I have had to pay in excess of 60% in income tax on many occasions and as such feel that it is only right to claim some priveledge.

The nature of our tax code lends itself to a natural seperation of social strata. This has been true thoughout history and I see no reason for exception now. It is just that people do not freely express what should be obvious. If you desire true equality, lets change the tax code and other divisions that make those who work harder or have more into some sort of monster.

Otherwise you are not expressing democracy and capitalizm but Marxism.

John Stodder said...

The "two Americas" speech sounds a lot more credible coming from Cedarford than it does from John Edwards.

Go onto to Prisontalk.com, just dip in randomly to the messages left by the wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, parents, siblings and children of the imprisoned, and from former prisoners now facing return.

Prison is an incredibly stressful experience for anybody. Especially the first time. More than 2 million people will wake up tomorrow morning in prison somewhere in America. Virtually none of them want to be there; virtually all of them would rather be home with an ankle bracelet. The majority of them are no more violent than Paris Hilton. The majority of them were probably feeling insane after their first three days, and would love to be able to claim their feelings of extreme stress and unhappiness are a "medical condition." But out of all these people, Paris Hilton gets this consideration.

This does not sit well.

The Drill SGT said...

I'm surprised that Paris wasn't required to waive some level of medical privacy in order to keep the judicial system from looking like complete idiots, as they do now :)

in order to get what she wanted. which was home detention

The Drill SGT said...

apologies to all the gays who read this post but :)


I just watched the Sherrif's office press conference. God that guy is a limp wristed weeny

The Drill SGT said...

Press conference

what a PC, mealy mouthed weeny PAO type

I'm Full of Soup said...

John Stodder said:

"This does not sit well".

Very well put - your snapshot of 2 million other people in jail while the emptyheaded heiress is at home.

She certainly does not know it but she has just become a bigtime cause celebre. And heads will roll.

The Drill SGT said...

Ann posted...After only 3 days.

Actually the LA Sheriff sadly counts it as five (5) days.

1. in 10 Min before midnight on Sunday
2. Monday
3. Tuesday
4. Wednesday
5. Out 9 minutes after midnight on Thursday AM


read'em and weep

Revenant said...

Two Americas. Justice for the rich is a different system than justice for the poor

Maybe, but in this case that wasn't true the way you mean. Hilton's sentence was much harsher than it would have been if she wasn't rich and famous. If you or I were in her situation we'd probably just have to do some community service. Paris got 45 days in solitary confinement. Don't even try to tell me that's how we normally punish that kind of crime.

The judge wanted to make an example of her, that's all.

Unknown said...

i'm certainly not a paris hilton fan, but i do think 25 cavity searches in 3 days is bit much...and yes, it could cause a flaming rash.

Galvanized said...

Too disgusted with elitism and preferential treatment available to the rich in the justice system to even offer a comment. Bleh...

Dactyl said...

Maybe the DA owed the warden a favor. I know if I were the warden I'd take one look at the circus on CNN and be on the phone: 'I don't need this shit.'

Hoosier Daddy said...

Prison is an incredibly stressful experience for anybody.

Sure is which is why when you're on your best behavior, you don't go there.

Virtually none of them want to be there; virtually all of them would rather be home with an ankle bracelet. The majority of them are no more violent than Paris Hilton

Cry me a river. Paris was in a county lockup, not a prison. Big difference there. As for the majority who are non-violent, I'd like to see some statistics on that. Few people are pulling long stretches for shoplifting or DUI unless you're talking felonies. Most are in for drug related offenses and a whole lot more are in for assault and rape then you might think.

Sorry but I have zero sympathy for the prison population, Paris' get out of jail free card notwithstanding. Michael Irvin didn't do any time as did Willie 'Pothead' Nelson or Ted Kennedy if we're going to keep score. Then you have OJ but we won't go there.

Fact is, no matter where you live on the globe, money talks and bullshit walks. The fact that Paris or any of the above get a pass doesn't mean we should cut anyone else slack. No one said life was fair and methinks that this little escapade is not going to do her much good in the celebrity limelight.

Unknown said...

an opinion: paris, just as do many other prisoners, black, white or brown, get out early or serve no time at all...because the l.a. county system is so over crowded there isn't room for people who commit non-violent crimes.

Revenant said...

The probationary period for convictions of driving with a BAC of 0.08% or more (what Paris was convicted of -- she had a 0.08 exactly) is meant to act as a guard against further drunk driving. The normal penalty for driving on a suspended license, even if you're on probation, is a fine and an extension of the suspension; it is only chronic offenders who risk jail time. Anyone who thinks Paris Hilton got off easily by only spending three days in "real" jail is mistaken. A normal person like you or I would never have seen the inside of a jail cell under these circumstances -- we'd have been fined and released again. The judge wanted to feel big by smacking down a rich girl. That's what this is all about; neither justice nor the rule of law had much to do with it.

And fairness aside, locking someone up for 45 days for driving on a suspended license is retarded, especially in a state that lets far more serious violations of the law (such as being in the country illegally) slide completely. Of course, a state that applied common sense to criminal law wouldn't have such a ridiculously low BAC limit in the first place.

Unknown said...

rev thinks california sucks.

yeah, our miserable weather, expansive beaches, beautiful ocean, massive lakes, spectacular mountains, gorgeous desert...eeeeeekkkk!!!

oh, and, as for our crimes rates, california has 35,000,000 million people, but ranks at #10...behind the following states:

Alaska #7
Delaware #9
Florida #2
Louisiana #6
Maryland #3
Nevada #8
New Mexico #5
South Carolina #1
Tennessee #4

Revenant said...

rev thinks california sucks.

No, dumbass, I don't think it sucks. I live in San Diego, and I like it here. I do, however, think the California *government* sucks -- a sentiment which, according to polls, is shared by a large majority of Californians.

oh, and, as for our crimes rates, california has 35,000,000 million people, but ranks at #10

That's per capita, dumbass. You do know what per capita means, right? Among other things it means that that "35 million" figure is irrelevant. In absolute terms California ranks #1 in crimes committed; it is our per-capita violent crime rate that ranks at tenth. That's tenth *worst*, as in "four out of five states are better in this regard". We have the tenth highest rate of violent crime, the ninth highest murder rate, and the fifth highest rate of auto theft. To put this in simpler terms your little brain will understand, the vast majority of the country is a lot safer to live in.

California's got a lot going for it -- but the government, taxes, crime, and cost of living, and illegal immigrant problem are all horrible (a sentiment which, again, most Californians share). While I myself can't see leaving, I'm not surprised that California has negative internal migration.

Maxine Weiss said...

Revenant said: "And fairness aside, locking someone up for 45 days for driving on a suspended license is retarded".

That's not why they locked her up. They locked her up for violating her probation, the terms of which she signed!

Either probation means something, or it doesn't. People on probation-people on parole, have a duty to comply with the terms of the parole/probation---terms with they agreed with at the time.

That being said, if you are faced with overcrowding, and you've got a dozen murderers to house vs one ill Paris Hilton....I think the choice is clear.

Maxine Weiss said...

OMG---

"According to TMZ, the L.A. city attorney asked the judge to have her return to jail to finish the rest of her sentence. He says the sheriff's department was held in contempt of court for "violating Judge Sauer's May 4, 2007 order, which expressly stated "no electronic monitoring."

The judge granted the request for a hearing, which will be held at 9:00 AM PDT tomorrow. Paris has been ordered to attend."

mythusmage said...

A man's degree of self-assurace is directly proportional to his depth of ignorance on a subject.

I know panic attacks. Panic attacks have killed people, and not always the one having the panic attack.

Susan said...

It actually makes you admire Martha Stewart who sucked it up, did her time and didn't really complain much.

Jennifer said...

Revenant - My understanding is that she was sentenced to jail time because she got the DUI, then violated probation not once but twice, didn't show up to the court ordered classes that were a part of her probation, showed up to numerous court dates late, and behaved in court (along with her mother) in a manner that got her mother threatened with a contempt of court charge.

What else is the court supposed to do at that point? Just keep asking her nicely to cooperate?

Maxine Weiss said...

Martha Stewart was Federal, and the Federal Judges control the Federal Prison system.

With Paris, the Sheriff has complete jurisdiction over who gets in, and for how long, in County Jail.

Of course, if there was improper influence peddling....say, if Grandpa William Barron Hilton III made a secret phone call...

I'd love to get ahold of Sheriff Lee Baca's phone records from the last 48 hours!

In any case, that's why they are going to Court tomorrow. There are several issues they need to iron out, not the least of which is the House Arrest/electronic monitoring issues.

Although the Sheriff has jurisdiction over length of sentence, I don't know if he can unilaterally agree to change a sentence, when the Judge specifically said no house arrest. I'm assuming they'll ask the Judge for a substitution. Let's hope Judge Sauer (luv that name) agrees to it.

If the Judge and the Sheriff can't get come to terms, this whole thing goes to a higher court for a ruling.

If nothing else, based on the public outrcy, there'll be an investigation. ---A pointless investigation in which more mindless administrative time and tax payer monies are thrown down a sinkhole, nothing new learned, and the same thing continuing to happen over and over again.

Ain't our legal system fun?

Revenant said...

My understanding is that she was sentenced to jail time because she got the DUI

I believe the conviction (which she pled no contest to) was for "Driving with a BAC of 0.08% or greater" which, believe it or not, is actually a separate crime from DUI. I got out of jury duty one time by expressing my feelings on the dippiness of that particular law.

Anyway, she wasn't sentenced to jail time, but to three years of unsupervised probation (i.e., she didn't have a probation officer). This is a weird arrangement, but common within the convoluted system dealing with drunk driving in California. It is actually not equivalent to a three year prison sentence (you'd think it would be, but no). Its basically a three-year period where the judge can throw you in jail for pretty arbitrary reasons.

It is NOT, however, common for a judge to consider driving with a suspended license to be a violation. The DMV handles that sort of thing in drunk driving cases, and they generally handle it with a fine and an extension of the suspension. It would be normal to be jailed for not attending the required class, but a normal sentence would be TWO days, not 45.

To the best of my knowledge the terms of her parole said nothing about "always being on time to court" or "not giving the judge a hard time", so that shouldn't have been relevant to the sentencing either.

To sum up: if Paris Hilton was named "Betty Smith" or "Juanita Hernandez", she'd still probably have been jailed, but she'd have been *released* after a couple days -- not stuck under house arrest for another six weeks.

Maxine Weiss said...

Wacky or not, she accepted the terms. If she had a problem with the whole thing, she should have appealed.

If you plead no-contest, and make an agreement with the Court, you are expected to live up to that agreement.

Driving on a suspended license after pleading no-contest to a DUI is a very very very serious matter.

To then thumb your nose at the Court by showing up late, and keep the Judge waiting.....that's an instant contempt of Court, and immediately would lengthen the sentence of the average person.

She literally compounded her own problems and the Judge had every right to slap a further sentence on her in the midst of a potential contempt of Court. Courtroom demeanor matters, always.

Judges don't take kindly to anyone pulling their chain, whether it's Paris Hilton or anyone else. She expects to be coddled and pampered....but it's not like that in a Courtroom.

She's able-bodied. She's functional---I think. She's not helpless. She can comply with a Court order, and a mandatory Court-imposed sentence. And the Court will compel her to do so using any means necessary.

Where it gets interesting is if the Sheriff puts up any barriers.

There have been plenty of "average" people who've been thrown in the Pokey for just looking cross-eyed at a Judge! It's not a game. It's serious business.

Beau said...

I'll bet Scooter is calling her for advice.

Revenant said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Revenant said...

Wacky or not, she accepted the terms.

The terms did not specify a 45 day prison sentence for violating probation.

hdhouse said...

I finally understand what the right wing means about keeping sociopaths in jail so we are safer as a society.

Fen said...

So then, you'll be turning yourself in? ;)

Galvanized said...

Susan said...
It actually makes you admire Martha Stewart who sucked it up, did her time and didn't really complain much.


And I did have a lot of respect for Martha Stewart for doing just that. She would have been a good example for Paris to follow.

Jennifer said...

Revenant - We may just be splitting hairs at this point, but it does seem useful to point out that the first time she was pulled over for driving with a suspended license she was just given a warning and required to sign a statement that she was aware she was not allowed to drive. The second time she was pulled over for driving with a suspended license she was going 70 in a 35, at night, with her lights off.

And, while being late to court and having a bad attitude with the judge obviously don't violate her probation, they do make the judge a lot less inclined to give her her 42nd break in this whole affair.

hdhouse said...

ahhh Maxine its the Bureau of Prisons who run the federal correctional institutions. Judges can recommend. They do not control.

The Judge and the Sheriff don't "come to terms". There are no discussions. The judge says and the Sheriff does. .. or did you not listen to the press conference.

...all your cross arguments are perpelxing to say the least...let her go/throw the book at her.... honestly (i know that is an unfamiliar term to you maxine), one would think that you were drinking as well.