# Paris goes free! WTF?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 7, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120 "2007-06-07T14:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/141 "2007-06-08T04:00:58Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] Shit like this makes me reconsider my position on the merits of fundamentalist Islam. [/QUOTE] Indeed. A good old-fashioned public stoning is what’s called for here, I think. If ever there was an argument for capital punishment, Paris Hilton is it. Seriously, though, if I were an inmate there on similar charges right now, I’d be considering suing the county for their preferential treatment of her. Maybe I’ve just been over here too long, but I can’t help but wonder whether any money may have changed hands for this deal. I hope she gets sent back, along with her loud-mouthed mother. BTW: For the house arrest, any truth to the rumors that her mother is baking her a cake with a file in it? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/142 "2007-06-08T04:12:36Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] This post was anticipated by **Squink’s** above. [/QUOTE] Actually, I had no idea you were going to post this. Had I, I’d have done the polite thing, and not posted presciently. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/143 "2007-06-08T04:20:37Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] It doesn’t sound like her time served is out of the ordinary, though. [/QUOTE] She’s back in court Friday as it seems some people do view it as out of the ordinary > [@](#): > > Then, late Thursday, he filed a petition questioning whether Sheriff Lee Baca should be held in contempt of court for releasing Hilton — and demanding that she be held in custody. Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer’s decision to haul Hilton back to the courtroom came shortly after. > > “It is the city attorney’s position that the decision on whether or not Ms. Hilton should be released early and placed on electronic monitoring should be made by Judge Sauer and not the Sheriff’s Department,” said Jeffrey Isaacs of the city attorney’s office. > > Sauer himself had expressed his unhappiness with Hilton’s release before Delgadillo asked him to return her to court. When he sentenced Hilton to jail last month, he ruled specifically that she could not serve her sentence at home under electronic monitoring. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070608/ap\_en\_ce/paris\_hilton](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070608/ap_en_ce/paris_hilton) ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/144 "2007-06-08T04:21:13Z")
I, for one, hope she stays out and that the court simply says, “Fuck it.” It’s a waste of time and money. All the extra security and shit necessary while she’s in jail, and all the tied up court time…does anyone think the little blond blockhead is going to learn much of anything from this? Well, maybe she’ll learn that jail is “icky.” At least if she’s out, I believe she’s paying the court for being on a monitor. That’s the way it is in Minnesota, anyway. Hell, she can afford to have doctors and lawyers making continual runs at the courts, and the system has to deal with all that to what I believe is the detriment of other cases they could be trying or investigating. Y’know, there may be something in legally codifying the way rich people can buy their way out of jail. At least that way they wouldn’t be breaking the law, the system would be able to recoup some of the costs of handling their cases, and nobody could complain that they were treated preferentially–anyone who could afford to pay their way out could do so. What? Like it ain’t happening now, anyway? (And, no, I’m not about to sit here and try and come up with a menu of how much each crime should cost.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/145 "2007-06-08T04:42:26Z")
I don’t consider it a waste of time and money if the public can be taught that being rich and up in high society will not protect you. IF that’s how this turns out. Hopefully, all this fuss will make some other celebs think twice about drinking and driving or violating court orders. That alone could save a lot more money than what’s being expended on Paris. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/146 "2007-06-08T04:48:46Z")
[QUOTE=Triskadecamus] Oh, I think that wasn’t so much dumb, as wishful thinking. Tris [/QUOTE] _Harumph!!_ I’ll be in my room. With the door locked. And tethered. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/147 "2007-06-08T04:49:11Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I don’t consider it a waste of time and money if the public can be taught that being rich and up in high society will not protect you. IF that’s how this turns out. Hopefully, all this fuss will make some other celebs think twice about drinking and driving or violating court orders. That alone could save a lot more money than what’s being expended on Paris. [/QUOTE] If history has proven anything, it’s that: 1. Being rich and up in high society _will_ protect you, and 2. Celebs don’t tend to learn much from other celebs’ mistakes. It’d be nice if you were right, but I’m too cynical to think it’ll happen. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/148 "2007-06-08T04:54:27Z")
Conan O’Brien’s skit that just aired seems to explain everything. Anyone see it? It’s funny cause it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/149 "2007-06-08T04:59:25Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] It’d be nice if you were right, but I’m too cynical to think it’ll happen. [/QUOTE] Oh, I’m pretty cynical myself, but I like it when they give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/150 "2007-06-08T13:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=Kozmik] Conan O’Brien’s skit that just aired seems to explain everything. Anyone see it? It’s funny cause it’s true. [/QUOTE] I saw a highlight on CNN this morning. Conan said a movie was being made about this called “The Rawskank Redemption”. What was the skit about? ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/151 "2007-06-08T13:33:10Z")
[QUOTE=marshmallow] Link? [/QUOTE] I’m guessing it had something to do with statutory rape. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/152 "2007-06-08T13:35:22Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Seriously, though, if I were an inmate there on similar charges right now, I’d be considering suing the county for their preferential treatment of her. [/QUOTE] One of the local TV stations in Chicago went down and interviewed guys getting out of the Cook County jail yesterday. They felt that Paris really should have served her whole sentence. duh! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/153 "2007-06-08T13:52:43Z")
[Paris Hilton has been ordered back to court at 9:00am Friday Morning](http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/08/paris.hilton.ap/index.html). Apparently the judge was VERY DAMNED SPECIFIC in his sentencing. He said clearly that she may NOT be sent home to wear an ankle bracelet. This had become a juridictional pissing match between the Judge and the Sheriff. In a perverse way, this drama only supports Ms. Hilton’s statements that she was mis-informed and mis-directed by others and is not responsible. if a Judge and a Sheriff cannot decide what the law is and who is in charge, what- will poor Ms. Hilton be held responsible? That dear girl. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/154 "2007-06-08T13:59:46Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Actually, I had no idea you were going to post this. Had I, I’d have done the polite thing, and not posted presciently. 😉 [/QUOTE] I’ll let it go this time. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/155 "2007-06-08T14:01:05Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] [Paris Hilton has been ordered back to court at 9:00am Friday Morning](http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/08/paris.hilton.ap/index.html). Apparently the judge was VERY DAMNED SPECIFIC in his sentencing. He said clearly that she may NOT be sent home to wear an ankle bracelet. This had become a juridictional pissing match between the Judge and the Sheriff. In a perverse way, this drama only supports Ms. Hilton’s statements that she was mis-informed and mis-directed by others and is not responsible. if a Judge and a Sheriff cannot decide what the law is and who is in charge, what- will poor Ms. Hilton be held responsible? That dear girl. 😃 [/QUOTE] I very much doubt there is any legal ambiguity. Just who is easier to bribe. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/156 "2007-06-08T16:45:57Z")
The more I see of this case the less I like it. Why did the court and prosecutor write in the “no house arrest” clause in the sentence? It’s within their bounds, of course, but how common is this type of clause and what are the guidelines for its use? The law is clear, if the Sheriff was given a sentence which specified no house arrest, then he should not have approved house arrest. On the other hand, if there were some questions about the appropriateness of including the “no house arrest” clause then perhaps the Sheriff did the right(not necessarially the same as legal) thing. [CNN’s report says](http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/08/paris.hilton.ap/index.html) > [@](#): > > [Hilton’s transition to house arrest] also was met with outrage from the sheriff’s deputies union, members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, civil rights leaders, defense attorneys and others. > > “What transpired here is outrageous,” county Supervisor Don Knabe told The Associated Press, adding he received more than 400 angry e-mails and hundreds more phone calls from around the country. > > Hilton’s return home “gives the impression of … celebrity justice being handed out,” he said. > > … > > California Attorney General Jerry Brown criticized the Sheriff’s Department for letting Hilton out of jail, saying he believed she should serve out her sentence. > > “It does hold up the system to ridicule when the powerful and the famous get special treatment,” Brown told The Associated Press in an interview before testifying at a congressional hearing in Washington. > > “I’m sure there’s a lot of people who’ve seen their family members go to jail and have various ailments, physical and psychological, that didn’t get them released,” he said. “I’d say it’s time for a course correction.” > > The Los Angeles County jail system is so overcrowded that attorneys and jail officials have said it is not unusual for nonviolent offenders like Hilton to be released after serving as little as 10 percent of their sentences. What stinks about this is the “send her back to jail” group mentioning of public opinion and concern for the appearance of the situation. Either the law was followed in keeping with normal use and practices or it wasn’t. The final paragraph I quoted seems to indicate the punishment handed down to Ms. Hilton may not have been the “usual” sentence. If most sentences restricted early release(even to house arrest) then serving as little as 10% of a sentence would be an unusual occurrance, which is not the case according to the unnamed “attorneys and jail officials.” So what are we talking here? A judge and prosecutor with a hard on for celebrities? Perhaps the waste of oxygen that is Ms. Hilton in particular? Or a sheriff who decided to arrogate to himself the role of judge? The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, and given the broad lattitudes in prosecutorial and judicial roles in charging and sentencing I’d guess no one could say for sure if this case was prosecuted more vigorously or sentenced more harshly than is proper. I actually wish it had gone up for appeal so we could have had a review of the sentence and have more confidence it was fair and in line with precedent. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/157 "2007-06-08T16:53:19Z")
I would say it is an appropriate clause for someone who had **already** been released once on her own personal promise, in writing, that she wouldn’t break the terms of her probation. Why would any judge be stupid enough to release someone again who demonstrated she couldn’t be trusted the first time? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/158 "2007-06-08T17:48:37Z")
It seems we Yanks aren’t the only ones to let celebs out. Noted restroom wanker George Michael [get’s community service.](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070608/ap_en_mu/people_george_michael) > [@](#): > > A British judge sentenced George Michael on Friday to 100 hours of community service and banned him from driving for two years for driving under the influence of drugs. > > Michael, whose real name is George Panayiotou, pleaded guilty May 8 to a charge of driving while unfit through drugs. > > Police said the 43-year-old pop star was found slumped at the wheel of his car in north London after witnesses observed the vehicle weaving onto the wrong side of the road at about 5 miles to 10 miles an hour in the early hours of Oct 2. > > Michael, appearing in Brent Magistrates’ Court, said he was ashamed that “I had done something really wrong in putting other people at risk.” > > As part of his sentence, Michael was ordered to pay costs of $4,622. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/159 "2007-06-08T18:31:35Z")
That’s pretty much where I’m landing too. Bolstered by two other bits of evidence/reasoning. Firstly, the choice to abandon an appeal of the sentence. If the sentence were out of line I can see no reason to abandon an appeal. Secondly, no one has questioned the appropriateness of the sentence, not even the sheriff. He said the reasons she was let go were medical, not because her sentence was unjust. The thing which bothers me is, in every story/article I’ve read about her time in jail there has been some verbiage along the lines of “this is a normal amount of time served for this offense” or “is not unusual for nonviolent offenders like Hilton to be released after serving as little as 10 percent of their sentences.” I’m not thinking it bothers me that much though. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120/160 "2007-06-08T18:36:09Z")
[QUOTE=Honey] I saw a highlight on CNN this morning. Conan said a movie was being made about this called “The Rawskank Redemption”. What was the skit about? [/QUOTE] It was about the judge reducing the sentence. Conan had a “live feed” from the courtroom where the judge was sitting on the bench… Are you watching the media circus that’s been on? All those frenzied, crazed media crowding around the police car. Then they were chasing the police car (as opposed to the opposite). 😃 When I saw this one police car, with presumably Paris Hilton inside, going down the highway - in the context of the ‘normal’ traffic and people walking on the sidewalks - I though this one police car is the center of attention. Wow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paris-goes-free-wtf/407120.md?page=9)