Paris Hilton, who you may have heard of, was sentenced to 45 days in jail today after violating her probation for a drunk-driving arrest last year.
Her license was suspended at that time, but she was driving again in January when she was pulled over by police. Officers then reminded her about her suspended license and had her "sign a document acknowledging she was not to drive," which sounds like celebrity treatment to me already. But she was arrested again in February for speeding with her headlights off. That, plus her failure to enroll in an alcohol education program by February 12 as she was supposed to, seems to have irked the judge a bit. It probably also did not help that she showed up late for her probation hearing.
Hilton claimed that she thought her license had been suspended for only 30 days, and that she had not actually looked at the document she signed in February saying her license was suspended. She also had her spokesman take the stand to testify that he had advised her that he believed her license was no longer suspended. (Hilton's attorneys characterized the spokesman as the "liaison" between Hilton and her lawyers.)
The Spokesman Defense did not work, though. Judge Michael T. Sauer did not believe Hilton, her spokesman or her attorneys, saying he had no doubt that Hilton knew her license was suspended. He sentenced her to 45 days in jail, with no opportunity for work release, furloughs, electronic monitoring, or a provision that apparently allows rich people to pay to serve time in an "alternative jail" of their choice.
Paris herself was apologetic and said very little, but her mom threw a tantrum, saying "This is pathetic and disgusting, a waste of taxpayer money with all this nonsense. This is a joke." When the judge ruled, she blurted out, "May I have your autograph?" Maybe she wanted to accompany Paris to jail, but the judge did not take her up on that offer.
Link: Huffington Post
