Probation Violation Gets Paris Hilton Jail Time
Paris Hilton will serve 45 days in county jail for violating her probation arising from an alcohol-related reckless driving case in September 2006.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Hilton must go to jail on June 5 and will not be allowed any work release, furloughs, and use of an alternative jail or electronic monitoring in lieu of jail, according to an article posted on MSNBC’s Web site.
The article said Hilton apologized to the judge during the hearing, but that apparently did not convince the judge. She was then ordered to report to a women’s jail in suburban Lynwood on the set date or face 90 days behind bars. The judge’s ruling excluded her from paying to serve time in a jail of her choice, as some are allowed.
Hilton, 26, pleaded no contest in January to reckless driving stemming from a Sept. 7, 2006 arrest in Hollywood. Police said she appeared intoxicated and failed a field sobriety test. She had a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent, the level at which an adult driver is in violation of the law. She was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. Prosecutor say two other traffic stops and failure to enroll in a mandated alcohol education program, are what brought Hilton back to court.
On Jan. 15, CHP officials stopped Hilton and found her driving on a suspended license. At the time she signed a document acknowledging that she was not to drive, according to court papers. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies stopped Hilton again on Feb. 27 and charged her with violating her probation. Police said she was pulled over at about 11 p.m. after authorities saw the car speeding with its headlights off. While her spokesperson said she just wasn’t aware that her license was suspended and that she wasn’t allowed to drive even for work purposes, officials found a copy of the document Hilton signed on Jan. 15 in her car’s glove compartment. She was also required to enroll in an alcohol education program by Feb. 12, which she did not do, court papers say.
The sentence may appear harsh and ridiculous to many, but the judge does pose an interesting question: Why didn’t Hilton’s attorneys simply tell her that she is not supposed to drive? Why wasn’t she enrolled in an alcohol education program? Her offenses may not seem huge, but her actions do demonstrate a callous disregard for the law. Then again, did she deserve jail time or just a stern warning?
For more information on DUI arrests, your rights or the California DUI laws contact Neil Shouse at neilshouse@yahoo.com.
