Paris Hilton gets hauled back to jail.
© Associated Press
Celebrity Justice 101
By: Jarrod SarafinDate: Saturday, June 09, 2007
We already knew that when it comes to celebrities facing consequences from breaking the law, our justice system was an absolute joke. We just never see how much of a joke it was. If this week is an indication of it, the humor of analyzing it is indescribable.
Our top story, Paris Hilton, gets off with not even a slap on the wrist. Or does she?
Meanwhile, Joe Francis, has different law enforcement agencies actually fighting over his body and where he should be in custody. One has to wonder what fellow celebrity Joe Francis is thinking while sitting in his jail cell in Who Knows Where, USA. He can’t be pleased given his current situation and the recent news about Hilton being freed must compound on top of it.
When you, dear reader, get into trouble with the law, there are consequences. If you do the crime, you will do the time.
Not so with certain celebrities who seem to be above the law.
So which celebrities get off with a slap on the wrist and which celebrities have no luck whatsoever inside that joke known as our justice system?
Let’s look at Celebrity Justice 101.
Paris Hilton’s jail experience of “There and Back Again”—An Heiress Story
The month long reprieve on discussing Paris Hilton that I thought I had is now over…after just 5 days.
According to sources of family, she was “doing well” in the Century Detention Center. According to other sources in her family, she wasn’t eating and someone within the jail told People magazine that “she cries all day”. Which side is correct? Well, she got a visit by her psychiatrist on Wednesday so I’ll believe the nervous breakdown report first and foremost.
Whatever the case, she won’t be crying anymore. She was released earlier this morning (on Thursday) and now she’s sitting comfortably in her home.
Celebrity Justice 101. If you’re rich, famous & popular? You’re above the law.
After serving just three full days of the 45 days to which she was originally sentenced, she will no longer be identified as inmate 9818783 in the Century Detention Center.
At a news conference Thursday morning, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said Hilton had been diagnosed with "medical issues" that resulted in her being "reassigned" to house arrest for the next 40 days.
Medical reasons? Is she dying?
I do believe there are a lot of people who are sick, nervous, and under extreme anxiety in jails all over the country.
He said he was prohibited by law from going into specifics about said medical issues, except that it was not due to a staph infection or some kind of jail outbreak.
"After extensive consultation with medical personnel, including doctors here at CRDF, it was determined that Paris Hilton would be reassigned to our community-based alternative to custody electronic-monitoring program," Whitmore said.
"She has been fitted with an ankle bracelet. And she has been sent home. And she will be confined to her home for the next 40 days. Because she has agreed to this through her attorney, her sentence is now back up to 45 days. She has already served five days, so that's 40 days."
He described Hilton's demeanor as she left the facility as "focused."
More like “happy”, I bet.
It’s not all fun and games though…Whitmore also said she will have to foot the bill for her home confinement, which amounts to about $100 a day, and that the ankle monitor restricts her movements to between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet which just right for her 2,700 square foot Spanish-esque residence over Sunset Strip. A house which has 4 bedrooms and a swimming pool.
Oh, how brutal.
100 dollars a day? Wow, that’s going to bankrupt her.
Stuck in a 3,000-4,000 square foot house? How Claustrophobic!
The release has already improved young Paris’s spirits. She’s thanked the Century Detention Center for being professional and courteous to her.
"I want to thank the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and staff of the Century Regional Detention Center for treating me fairly and professionally," she said. "I am going to serve the remaining 40 days of my sentence.
I already know this isn’t going to sit well with other inmates in the justice system who receives the exact opposite of treatment. This is going to sit well with other enforcement agencies, politicians and just about everyone else.
This is going to cause a frenzied maelstrom of controversy within all the circles.
So much for not talking about the ditz known as Paris Hilton for a month. The peace didn’t even last a week.
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Update: Immediately upon release, everyone who has a voice seemed to do that in outrage on her being released from jail. Law enforcement agencies, LA lawyers & prosecutors as well as politicians and talking TV heads had something to say about it.
Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, whose office prosecuted the case, said he is "extremely troubled" by the release and has asked his prosecutors to "immediately explore all possible legal options to ensure that the law is being applied equally and justly in this case."
After news of Hilton's home confinement, outrage was released immediately among African-American activists like the Reverend Al Sharpton, who groused, "This early release gives all of the appearances of economic and racial favoritism that is constantly cited by poor people and people of color.
As of this afternoon, the county board of supervisors had received more than 400 phone calls, emails and faxes complaining about Hilton's release. A spokeswoman for the county said her office had received about 600 emails and calls. The city attorney's office declined to cite a specific number of Hilton-related correspondents, but said it had "been inundated" with calls and emails from not only Los Angeles but across the country.
A sheriff's department spokesman declined to elaborate on the nature of said condition, other than to say it was not a staph infection or related to a jailhouse epidemic. But with Hilton receiving visits from her psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Sophy, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and numerous reports of her crying incessantly in her cell and refusing to eat, speculation has centered on her transfer being for emotional reasons.
Hah. Inmates crying in their cells and refusing to eat? So that doesn’t happen often in prison and jail cells? That’s an excuse to release someone now days? Or just people like Paris Hilton?
Whatever the answer, the judge was not happy about hearing this news and neither was the prosecutor in charge.
Judge Michael T. Sauer, who sentenced Hilton to 45 days in jail for violating her probation for alcohol-related drunken driving, was said to be angry with the transfer, but his spokesman said there was little the judge could do. "The way the system works is that the court imposes the sentence and the sheriff incarcerates," said Allan Parachini.
"The sheriff makes decisions concerning the conditions of confinement and early release. Early release is an everyday occurrence."
Oh really?
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Update Again:
The prosecutors are apparently now sick of all the hate calls and letters they’re receiving over the Sheriff releasing her to her house.
Prosecutors filed court papers Thursday evening with the judge who originally sentenced the heiress to 45 days in jail requesting that the country sheriff's department return her to custody and that the department show cause as to why it shouldn't be held in contempt of court for letting her go, or "reassigning" her, in the first place
"Los Angeles County Jail medical facilities are well-equipped to deal with medical situations involving inmates," he added.
The president of the LA County Deputy Sheriff, Steve Remgie, had some quite illuminating things to say about the situation as well...
"It appears that in Los Angeles County, if you are a wealthy individual or famous individual, that you are getting preferential treatment in the county jail system, in the county criminal system," Remige said.
"I've never heard of a case where an inmate with mental problems has been released. Every jail facility has a medical unit attached to it.” He tells the LA Times. “If a medical condition arises that those units can't handle, we have a jail ward at County-USC Hospital. I find it hard to believe that the needs of one inmate could not be met by our medical services division."
Damn, this is a media circus.
I’m curious on what’s going to happen in court tomorrow morning at 9:00 am because judging from this circus, it should be interesting…
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Update For The Last Time! (I swear it!)
Paris Hilton is going back to jail.
Apparently, instead of coming to court this morning at 9:00 am, she thought she could just make a “phone appearance” from her house via telephone conference.
The judge didn’t appreciate or approve of that judgment. Judge Sauer immediately ordered the Sheriff's Department to send a squad car to pick her up at her Hollywood Hills home and escort her to the courthouse.
News choppers from around the city followed the police escort of Hilton back to court similar to some other incident that occurred over a decade and a half ago. You remember maniacs…The OJ Simpson chase. This wasn’t a chase; it was an escort with Paris in the back of the sheriff’s car but the parallels for media attention was uncanny.
Once they were in court, the judge immediately ordered Hilton back to the Century Detention Center to serve the remainder of her 23 day sentence.
Hilton’s reaction?
A weeping Hilton was escorted from the courtroom by a female deputy, screaming, "It's not right! Mom!"
I’d have to say this was a strange media circus, Paris, and indeed the mix-up isn’t right. However, breaking the law wasn’t right either. Getting out of your jail stay by that sheriff wasn’t right either.
Sheriff Lee Baca still defends his strange decision to release her to house custody for medical reasons…
"It isn't wise to keep a person in jail with her problem over an extended period of time and let the problem get worse," Baca told the Los Angeles Times. "In my opinion, justice is being served by the decision to have her serve her time at home. She would still be in the county jail if it were not for the medical advice."
Right.
I guess other inmates in the justice system aren’t as medically sick as young Paris Hilton.
Joe Francis has different law agencies fighting over the rights to his body
Obviously, Girls Gone Wild guru Joe Francis is not being treated in similar celebrity fashion as hotel heiress Paris Hilton.
Different law enforcement agencies in different states are fighting over the rights to have him in custody.
Francis thought he would be able to post bond when indicted for his federal tax evasion charges in Reno. He was dead wrong.
"It appears like the defense is making it sound like he has a choice to bond out or not, but the magistrate judge said he would not be able to post the $1.5 million cash bail unless he got his bond matter straightened out down in Florida," says Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the U.S. Attorney in Nevada, the judge overseeing the Girls Gone Wild mastermind's tax evasion case did not grant Francis bail but remanded him to federal custody.
Now the law enforcement agencies in Nevada, Florida and California are all arguing over who gets him next.
As it turns out, a Florida judge revoked Francis' bail Tuesday and issued a warrant for his arrest to bring him back to the Sunshine State on six felony counts of conspiracy, prostitution and filming underage girls in sexual situations. The charges stem from a 2003 bust in Panama City Beach.
Francis, 34, is also facing additional charges for smuggling contraband into a Florida jail in April, where he was serving a month for contempt.
Nevada's another matter. On Monday, the soft-core guru pleaded not guilty to federal tax evasion charges in a Reno federal court.
After the arraignment, his Nevada-based lawyer, David Houston, told TMZ that Francis would be free to go once he posted his $1.5 million bail. Despite being "elated," the Girls Gone Wild creator had "voluntarily" chosen to remain behind bars there, knowing police would ship him back East. (Houston also told the Website that Francis likes the Washoe County detention facility a lot better than the Florida lockup, since he gets more phone privileges there.)
Hah. Phone privileges? In jail, just ask your fellow inmates that you need the phone next?
Is that so hard to do for Francis?
According to prosecutors in Florida and Nevada, Francis' legal team flew to Florida after the arraignment but failed to convince officials to allow him to be freed on bond. That means he will likely remain in federal custody until the tax case goes to trial. He would finally be sent back to Florida after he was either acquitted of the federal charges or convicted and sentenced.
"We wouldn't want to lose his body if there's a warrant for him. We need him in federal custody," says Collins. "If they were going to let him bond out down there, then our judge would have let him bond out at $1.5 million."
Francis has been deemed a flight risk, having previously ignored a Florida federal judge's order to surrender. Because of that, the Nevada magistrate set several conditions that Francis would have to meet on top of sorting out the Florida logistics.
Among them: surrendering his passport; not using his private jet until the tax case is resolved; restricting his travel to Los Angeles and Reno; and getting permission before traveling to Florida for any court appearances.
Francis has another option. He could seek a detention hearing to try and change the conditions for bail in Nevada. His camp hasn't stated whether it would try to do so or whether to appeal the bail revocation in Florida.
The battle over Francis got started after a federal judge ruled that the federal tax case took precedence over the state charges and ordered U.S. marshals to send the Girls guru to Nevada against the wishes of Florida prosecutors.
A tentative trial date in his federal case is scheduled for July 24 which means this guy isn’t getting out of jail anytime soon.
Francis (his lawyer, he wasn’t able to attend for obvious reasons) has also pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of sexual battery in Los Angeles after allegedly groping an 18-year-old woman at a Hollywood party in January. A pretrial hearing is set for June 26.
Yeah, I wonder what Joe Francis is thinking about with the recent news about Paris Hilton getting the easy treatment. Obviously, the young celebrity females are getting nice treatment in California’s justice system while the men who take pictures of said hot young females are not getting said treatment.
Tom Sizemore surrenders himself to custody
As I said for a few weeks now, this guy is probably going away for a long time.
"He did turn himself in and was immediately taken into custody and handcuffed by the bailiff," said Jane Robison, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Escorted by a bodyguard, Sizemore walked into the Airport Branch of the Los Angeles Superior Court and said little to the phalanx of reporters awaiting his arrival, pausing only to tell local TV station ABC7 that "it was a relapse."
In May Sizemore, 45, was collared in the parking lot of the Four Points Sheraton in Bakersfield, California, and booked on seven drug-related charges.
While working on an indie film, he was arrested after him and another actor, 33-year-old Jason Salcido, argued it up with a front desk clerk over a botched reservation. Police found the two men holed up in a Ford Mustang with two bags of crystal meth and related paraphernalia, as well as Vicodin, Klonopin and Valium, none of which Sizemore had a prescription for, authorities said.
Sizemore pleaded not guilty May 22 to five felony counts of transportation of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and three counts of possessing a controlled substance without the proper prescriptions, offenses that could net him up to six years in prison.
He was already on probation for drug activities and he was expressly forbidden from possessing narcotics and associating with known drug users and sellers. It didn’t take long for prosecutors in Los Angeles to file a motion asking that he be held without bail for failing to obey the specific terms of his probation in a 2004 drug case.
In 2005, he was found in violation after skipping several court-ordered drug tests and also trying to fake a test with a prosthetic device known as a Whizzinator. While Sizemore could have been locked up for 16 months, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paula Adele Mabrey decided to give him another chance after the Saving Private Ryan actor offered a tearful mea culpa and promised to clean up his act in rehab.
Instead, Mabrey restored his probation, but extended it for an additional three years.
I doubt any tears will mean much in this next case or two…
According to Robison, Sizemore's attorney requested a new judge in the case. The actor was assigned to Judge Cynthia Ravis, who remanded him to custody without bail pending the outcome of a June 19 hearing on whether his probation should be revoked. If it is, he's still looking at a possible 16 months in the slammer. His next hearing is scheduled for June 18 in Bakersfield, California.
So while Sizemore was turning himself in for a possibly 10 years in accumulated prison time, Paris was getting out of her 23 day jail sentence when she had her own cell in the first place.
Yes, that’s Celebrity Justice 101, Maniacs.
