Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal Commentary Blogs -> TalkLeft

Legal Commentary

: TalkLeft

Paris Hilton Plea Deal Monday

By Jeralyn

On Monday, Paris Hilton will plead guilty to two misdemeanors to settle her Las Vegas felony cocaine possession charge.

It's a very harsh deal. She's agreeing to two suspended six month jail sentences, a year of unsupervised probation, and if she merely gets arrested (no conviction required) for anything other than a minor traffic offense, she agrees to immediately go in and serve the year.

The complaint against her will be amended to add a charge of obstruction of a police officer. The factual basis? She lied when she told the arresting officer that the Chanel purse she was carrying (that had less than a gram of cocaine inside it) did not belong to her. How do police know that was a lie? Because she posted a Twitpic of the purse on her Twitter feed a few weeks before the arrest with the caption, "Love My New Chanel Purse I Got Today." [More...]

According to the DA and the Las Vegas Review Journal which has received a copy of the amended complaint and plea agreement:

[T]wo consecutive six-month sentences in the Clark County Detention Center will be suspended and Hilton will be placed on year long probation.
If Hilton is arrested during her probation, she will have to serve a full year in jail, according to the plea deal.

"Defendant shall stay out of trouble. Defendant agrees that an arrest for any charge, excluding minor traffic violations for which a citation is issued, shall result in the immediate termination of her probation and the execution of the suspended sentences," the plea deal states. A minor traffic violation is anything other than a reckless driving or driving under the influence charge.

While the probation will be unsupervised, she will have to complete a substance abuse program and perform 200 hours of community service. There's also a fine of $2,000.00.

The prosecutor sounds angry. Maybe it was the lie. If not, she's being treated much more severely than non-celebrity defendants. As I wrote here, prison was not an option under the original felony charge. The DA tells the Las Vegas Review Journal:

"We fashioned a resolution which would give us complete control over her future. If she does not toe the line and stay out of trouble she will do one year in the Clark County Detention Center."

..."There are very strict limits on her future conduct. We will not have to litigate whether she was convicted of the charge or whether the charge was a major or minor offense," Roger said.

Paris seems to be taking it all in stride. After her court date in Vegas, she'll be off next week to Asia to launch her 2010 Fall/Winter collection of purses, watches and perfume, and open her 7th Paris Hilton Store in Jakarta. (Yes, Paris Hilton really works.)

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but if I were Paris, I'd have body guards around 24/7 for the next year to make sure no one plants something on her. No more unaccompanied visits to pet stores and Apple.

On a related note, Lindsay Lohan tweeted yesterday she failed a drug test and is ready to face the judge and go back to jail if necessary. She points out that drug addiction is a disease.

“Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn’t go away over night. I am working hard to overcome it and am taking positive steps…forward every day. I am testing every single day and doing what I must do to prevent any mishaps in the future…This was certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I’m prepared to face the consequences.”

Why bother to write about all this? To point out that probation is no walk in the park. When you violate, the judge has fewer sentencing options and may be less inclined to exercise those that avoid jail again. Given the probability of relapse for those with drug dependency issues, before people accept deals offering probation, they should really think through whether they can tow the line for the duration. If drug use were not a crime, but a civil infraction or no offense at all, this could all be avoided. America cannot jail itself out of its drug use problems. Smarter solutions are needed.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 18, 2010 (boomark / email).