I almost hate to ask, but are Senators working on resurrecting the amnesty bill while we’re distracted with this?

And I agree with Speakup and some prior commenters who pointed out how Ms. Hilton showed up late at prior hearings and blew off the terms of her probation. Those are who claiming the 45 day sentence is unequal haven’t addressed this issue… an issue amplified by the media attention on the case.

The judge is in a no-win situation here. If he would’ve given Paris no jail time because other people in similar situations are getting lax sentences, as other commenters have suggested, then he would’ve been harshly criticized by those following the media coverage.

In other words, the media coverage may have been a contributing factor here. Ms. Hilton’s contempt of court (showing up late on at least 2 occasions, blowing off her alcohol education, driving on a suspended license, etc.) did not help, either.

Dave Shay on June 8, 2007 at 5:54 PM

Now LASO is holding another press conference in a half hour…..this thread is going to get huge! LOL

Limerick on June 8, 2007 at 6:00 PM

I dont know which is worse..the paris showing of Cirque du SoLame? Or Geraldo and Shep Smith saying NO ONE gets jail for their first “deewee” ( some stupid name for DWI, I guess).
Hey stupid, 92% of ALL DUI/DWI’s get sentenced to jail, it’s just most first timers plead that sentence down to time suspended, providing the perp fulfills their plea agreement of 20 hours of alcohol education, 50 hours of ‘level 2 therapy’, community service, and not break any more laws,etc.
( maybe this “illegal alien = no law really matters”thingy is biting em in the butt now…no respect for any law now.)
IF they don’t complete theseplea arangements as agreed, they usually go to jail to complete the original sentence, in full.
It wasn’t just the DWI, it was the total contempt of court that got Paris Cirque Du Solame real jail time…
but Geraldo ‘no law is a good law’ Rivera… doesn’t have a frickin’ clue.

to steal a well known phrase:

BOO FREAKING HOO!!!!!!!!!!.

shooter on June 8, 2007 at 6:03 PM

Forget Paris : ) MKH’s latest

Spirit of 1776 on June 8, 2007 at 6:05 PM

So here I am unable to resist Googling to find out just how rare (or common) it is for people to be jailed for what some are claiming nobody is ever jailed for - violation of misdemeanor probation/parole.

First link - guess what Tank Johnson’s spending 60 days in jail for?

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Sports/2007/05/30/jailed_johnson_binges_on_junk_food/9544/

Perhaps Los Angeles is the exception.

Now somebody clarify this challenge - is it really the claim that nobody in LA is ever jailed for misdemeanor probation violation? Or do I have to find a case involving an heiress, multiple DWS violations, etc.?

Cuz I don’t think its going to take long to debunk the former assertion.

Professor Blather on June 8, 2007 at 6:09 PM

That picture of her is priceless!

bmac on June 8, 2007 at 6:25 PM

That You Tube tape is really well done. BTW, in my State she would have got 48 hours. I think the Judge is looking for some face time.

pat on June 8, 2007 at 6:30 PM

Professor Blather on June 8, 2007 at 6:09 PM

right2bright already found a case that is similar enough that shows, although maybe not common, it does happen. So all the talking heads, Judge Nap, etc, were wrong. So now, in light of the evidence, I think she was treated fairly.

You weren’t seriously trying to compare Tank’s case to Paris were you? You must not follow the NFL:

n November 2005, Johnson was arrested at the Excalibur nightclub in Chicago’s Cook County for possession of a handgun in his sport utility vehicle. Johnson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge and was sentenced to 18 months probation and 40 hours of community service.[4] On February 12, 2006, Johnson, while still on probation, was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest after allegedly verbally threatening a police officer. Johnson was leaving Level Nightclub on Chicago’s Rush Street when the police officer was ticketing a limousine driver whom Johnson had hired. As Johnson allegedly put up a struggle, he was maced and subdued with the help of other police officers. The charges were eventually dropped.[5]

On December 14, 2006, Lake County police officers searched Johnson’s home in Gurnee, Illinois, and allegedly discovered that he possessed six firearms, including two assault rifles. Although Johnson was at football practice during the search, his bodyguard William Posey was arrested from his house for alleged possession of marijuana. Johnson was charged with violation to probation and possessing unlicensed weapons. Bears coach Lovie Smith deactivated Johnson for the following game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers based on this incident.[6]

On December 16, 2006, Johnson’s best friend and bodyguard William Posey was killed in a shooting at Ice Bar in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Posey was shot after he was allegedly involved in a fight around midnight. Posey was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30am. Posey’s assailant was not apprehended by the police.[7] On December 28, Chicago Police apprehended Michael Selvie, Posey’s alleged assailant. Selvie, a “reputed gang member” has been implicated in over 30 other crimes. However, Selvie’s defense attorney claims that Selvie does not posses a firearm or any gang affiliations. If found guilty, Selvie will face charges of first degree murder.[8]

On December 22, 2006, Cook County Circuit Judge John J. Moran, Jr. (Skokie courthouse, Second District, Cook County, Illinois) placed Johnson on home confinement, preventing him from driving by himself or leaving the state of Illinois.[9] On February 8, 2007, Johnson entered a guilty plea in Cook County’s Courthouse in Skokie for violating his probation.[10] On March 15, 2007, Johnson was sentenced to a 120 days in prison (Cook County Jail) and and fined $2,500 for violating his probation. [11] On February 17, 2007, Johnson’s lawyer contested a Lake County Circuit Court to drop Johnson’s unlicensed weapons charges. His attorney claimed that since Johnson is a resident of Arizona, he does not have to abide to gun registration laws of Illinois.[12] Johnson entered a plea of not guilty on 10 counts of possessing a weapon without the proper state-required ID. [13]

On December 30, 2006, Tank Johnson contacted Gurnee Police Department to file harassment charges. [14] This news story is at best a footnote in many articles but deserves much more recognition. The information in the references is actually there but hard to find. Local youths left a toilet seat with a harassing message on his doorstep. Local news said that “Police did not disclose what the message on the garbage can said” [15] However, other sources claim that “Nice Job Tank” was written on the seat. [16] In reality the words “GO TANK” was written lovingly with duct tape. This toilet seat was duct taped to a garbage can.

On April 30, Johnson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge as part of an arrangement with prosecutors that will keep him from serving additional jail time. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, which will be served concurrently with a four-month sentence he’s already serving in the Cook County Jail for violating his probation; to donate $2,500 to the Gurnee Police Department and $2,500 to the Gurnee Exchange Club’s child abuse prevention program.[17] While he was in jail, many of his teammates and coaches, including Brian Urlacher, Rex Grossman, and Lovie Smith visited Johnson.[18] His release from jail on May 13 ended his legal problems from the December 2006 weapons incident.[19] The league ultimately suspended Johnson for half of the regular season on June 4.[20]. However, he will have the opportunity to reduce the sentence to six games if he complies with Commissioner Goodell’s guidelines of behavior, which include going to counseling.

TheBigOldDog on June 8, 2007 at 6:31 PM

Bad judges are ruining this country.

When the idiots “mistakenly” let her go home, they should’ve counted their blessing and let it go.

Instead, we get another Judge Ito, in this case one more inflamed with self, who has decided to torture this pathetic little flake, in public, for his own self-inflation (book deal, Dateline interviews, starleech folk hero status, etc.).

Has he no sense of being a gracious gentleman?

(Or simply admitting: that the court had erroneously released Ms. Hilton, but to spare her any trauma, would continue the home monitoring, with mental health supervison.)

Scooter’s judge, this judge, Ito, and too many current judges: self-aggrandizing martinets and/or not serious about the law, but only about their own angle / advantage / ego-boost / party-loyalty / sadistic glee / base jollies.

These “colorful character” judges need to go.

They pervert justice to a cartoon.

profitsbeard on June 8, 2007 at 6:31 PM

(Or simply admitting: that the court had erroneously released Ms. Hilton, but to spare her any trauma, would continue the home monitoring, with mental health supervison.)

You’re kidding, right? Where, in any description of the justice system, does it say that the court is supposed to spare criminals trauma? Hey, remember that guy who recently got out of jail based on a fax somebody faked? They shouldn’t have bothered picking him up and bringing him back either.

Laura on June 8, 2007 at 6:37 PM

You must be kidding right? You think those are the kind of people who get breaks? LOL!

You know who gets breaks? Connected people.

TheBigOldDog on June 8, 2007 at 5:20 PM

Really? Then why didn’t she get the break? And why do you want her, a connected person, to get the break? You’re talking in circles now.

csdeven on June 8, 2007 at 6:43 PM

I get the impression Shep wasn’t too happy to have to cover this “news”.

Yakko77 on June 8, 2007 at 6:49 PM

Here’s an interesting one:

http://www.seweb.uci.edu/users/joan/Images/LA_jail_profile.pdf

A study of LA County Jail in 1996. Strangely, there’s a category for “misdemeanor probation violation.” Wierd, having a category for something that’s never, ever happened.

In fact, it seems more the the rule than the exception.

And BigOlDog, the Tank comparison was used only to conform to your standards: he is being jailed for violation of misdemeanor probation. That was specifically what you claimed is rare.

Whether he deserves it more or not is certainly debatable. But see, that’s why we have judges. To consider the context and the circumstances, and not to simply make sure everyone is treated exactly the same. Not to look around, say “hey, somebody told me nobody’s ever gone to jail for this!,” and then insist that following the law is “the definition of injustice.”

Even if your point that she was being treated differently - which was painfully inaccurate - was factually correct, the circumstances of her case, her actions and attitude, warranted her sentence, as prescribed by the law and handed down by the judge.

This was, in fact, my whole point.

I find it fascinating that you’re arguing (with a straight face?) that she’s receiving unfairly harsh treatment, when almost everyone else is baffled by how unfairly lenient the court is being.

Which makes me wonder about what’s hiding in the back of your DVD collection? I’m now guessing you have every season of “The Simple Life.” Am I right?

To be fair, here’s a really good argument supporting Paris, and the guy nails it - its not the probation violation thats interesting, but the fact that the violation wasn’t a separate identifiable crime i.e. another DUI.

http://www.transparentgrid.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2007/05/14/2038/

He’s right: her real crime was pissing off the judge.

But again, even if she really was the first to have the book thrown at them for showing utter contempt for the court … I’m not sure why you’re upset about that.

Seems like the appropriate response is “about fricking time.” And a round of beers for the judge.

How can we start enforcing immigration laws, for example, if we start by arguing that we can’t ever enforce more harshly than we did with the last guy? Isn’t that precisely the liberal argument on immigration?

Interesting discussion. Too bad its quitting time. Now be careful with that DVD. You could go blind.

Professor Blather on June 8, 2007 at 6:58 PM

For once Shep’s ostentatious indignation is well-placed. As is his lack of seriousness.

Mark V. on June 8, 2007 at 7:06 PM