DUI Blogger

The news has been buzzing all weekend about Paris Hilton, who received a 45-day jail sentence Friday for charges that originally stemmed from an arrest for driving under the influence. Hilton pleaded no contest to a DUI charge in January, had her license taken away and was put on probation. This could have been the end of the story; unlike many Californians charged with driving under the influence, Hilton can afford a driver. But she was pulled over later that month and given a written warning, and again in February, when she was cited for driving on a suspended license and violating her probation. Her failure to sign up for alcohol education classes after that incident was what landed her in court.

Hilton’s defense was a fairly common one: She claimed she didn’t know her license was suspended. In fact, news reports suggest that a staffer told her she was cleared to drive after 30 days. “I have people who do that for me,” she said. “I just sign what people tell me to sign.”

Hilton is catching a lot of flack in the celebrity press for this statement, but in fact, not knowing your license is suspended can actually be a defense. The key is showing that you didn’t know it. Since notification comes by mail -- which can be unreliable and easy to lose -- jurors are often sympathetic to defendants who testify that their paperwork just got lost in the shuffle of daily life. Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did receive and understand it, a difficult burden to meet. Unfortunately for Hilton, this was not a defense in her case because she had a written warning from January and was carrying paperwork related to her DUI in the back of her car when she was pulled over.

Incidentally, although Hilton’s celebrity may have contributed to the harshness of her sentence, 45 days in jail isn’t that unusual for a defendant with a prior DUI and several warnings.

Nonetheless, she may have been able to avoid jail time if she had fought the DUI in the first place -- and she may have been able to mount a good defense, as her BAC was just around the legal limit. After the no-contest plea, she could have reduced her sentence by signing up for the alcohol classes, or taken other steps to show the judge that she was assuming responsibility for her infractions.