DUI and Jail for Paris Hilton

Should Paris Hilton Should Go to Jail or Do You think that the Court has Gone Overboard in the 45 day Sentence for Violating Probation?

And, what would likely happen to you, if you did what she did?

First of all, let’s take a look at what happened with the original DUI charge stemming from an incident on September 7, 2006. That evening at about 11:00 authorities stopped Paris when they noticed her driving recklessly. She appeared intoxicated and had a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent, which is a violation of law, not only in California, but most states, including Oklahoma.

She was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. This is not a stiff sentence and was certainly reasonable for a first offense.

Then on January 15, 2007 she was stopped by the Highway Patrol, who pointed out that she was driving on a suspended license. They had her sign a document acknowledging that she was not allowed to drive.

One month later, on February 27, Hilton was stopped, at about 11 pm after her car was seen speeding without her headlights on. At this point she was charged with violating her probation.

Paris was also supposed to enroll in an alcohol education program by February 12, which she also had not done.

At her recent hearing, for which she was late, she said she didn’t know her license was suspended and that she had other people who took care of all of her mail and paperwork.

Evidently, the judge thought “Enough is enough!” Paris had displayed total disregard for the whole legal process, not obeying any of the probation terms……being stopped TWICE for driving with a suspended license…..and not enrolling in the alcohol education program…. then adding salt to the wound by showing up late for court and saying she was unaware her license was suspended!

After 30 years in criminal defense, I’m not surprised the judge sentenced her to 45 days. Over the last few years the judicial system has gotten harsher when it comes to DUI related matters and I personally don’t think the judge would have been more lenient with anyone else with this type of repeated behavior and after so many chances.

The courts are generally more lenient in a first DUI offense if no one was hurt in the incident and if there are no other aggravating circumstances. However, these days, the courts are examining things more closely—as society has kept demanding over the years.

Things that used to be overlooked in past years are now considered in the court’s determination of a sentence for the defendant accused of a DUI or related crime.

That’s why it’s important that someone who is accused of a crime has an experienced lawyer who knows and understands the nuances of each judge’s and each prosecutor’s approach to different crimes and their punishments.