The whole saga of Lindsay Lohan made me think about famous people and the legal system. In “real life” (for lack of a better term), a good percentage of people plead guilty or no contest at arraignment court, especially the misdemeanants. Some plead guilty to the original charge, others work out a plea deal with the prosecutor, either in conjunction with their attorney or alone. But I can’t think of a single celebrity who didn’t draw out the process with multiple court dates and a team of lawyers, only to end up doing exactly what the average schlub could have done on Day One.
About the only “famous person” who I can think of who never went past arraignment court was Bob Taft, the former governor of Ohio, who pleaded no contest to 4 ethics violations at arraignment. But he’s hardly a celebrity in the traditional sense.
Amazingly, Wikipedia doesn’t have a list for this one, so I turn to the Dope. Are there any celebrities who pleaded guilty or no contest at their preliminary court appearance?