[Vision2020] Hilton Out of Jail, Back in Court

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (June 8, 2007) Spokesman Review -

"'If her name was Paris Perez and not Paris Hilton, she would have been out
in 12 to 36 hours,' he [Hilton's attorney Mark Geragos]  said."

[I'm guessing that Mr. Geragos is wrong.  Had her name been Paris Perez and
not Paris Hilton, she would have been escorted to County General Hospital
and returned to her cell.]

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Hilton out of jail, back in court 
Kevin Johnson and Laura Parker
USA Today
June 8, 2007

Paris Hilton, sprung from a Los Angeles County jail for what the sheriff's
department said were medical reasons, was ordered back in court today to
determine whether she should return to jail.

Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer issued the order late Thursday, hours
after the heiress was sent home to finish her term under house arrest.

The judge, who originally sentenced the ubiquitous Hollywood socialite to 45
days for violating probation on a prior reckless driving charge, took the
step as criminal justice officials reacted angrily to her abrupt release
Thursday morning. The city attorney filed a petition demanding to show cause
why Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca should not be held in contempt of
court for releasing Hilton.
 
Hilton was long gone from the Century Regional Detention Facility early
Thursday when Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore
announced that the celebrity inmate had been released for undisclosed
medical reasons. She was sent home where she was to spend the next 40 days
tethered to an electronic monitoring device.

Legal analysts said Hilton may have benefited more in this case from the
realities plaguing a severely overcrowded Los Angeles County jail system
rather than any special treatment related to her celebrity.

Attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented pop star Michael Jackson and
actress Winona Ryder, said it is extremely rare for most misdemeanor
offenders to serve jail time in Los Angeles County because of the
overcrowding. Geragos suggested that Hilton's celebrity actually may have
worked against her.

"If her name was Paris Perez and not Paris Hilton, she would have been out
in 12 to 36 hours," he said.

Richard Hutton, Hilton's attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this week, Hutton told reporters his client was doing well after her
first night in confinement.

On Thursday, however, Whitmore said a medical condition had played a role in
Hilton's release. He refused to say what it was.

Court records filed in a separate case involving Hilton indicate that the
high-profile inmate was suffering from serious emotional problems. Charles
Sophy, a psychiatrist who had been seeing Hilton before her May 4
sentencing, submitted a statement to the Los Angeles County Superior Court
on May 14 asking that a civil lawsuit involving Hilton be postponed because
she was "emotionally distraught and traumatized" by her fear of jail.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)