Lesson From the Paris Hilton Circus

Is there anything useful we can we learn from the recent jailing, release, and re-jailing of Paris Hilton? Surely, the media’s proven penchant to pander to the American public’s insatiable hunger for nutritionless news was no surprise.

What did you make of the fact that both sides of the case based their positions on the principle of equality: the rich and powerful should be treated no differently than the poor and obscure.

The prosecutor and judge, fortified by overwhelming public support, passionately evoked this notion in insisting that a spoiled and pampered millionaire who repeatedly thumbed her nose at the law serve her 45-day jail sentence.

In opposition, Ms. Hilton, her lawyers, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff claimed the equal treatment principle required leniency. First, the Sheriff pointed out (and he should know) that Ms. Hilton’s sentence was much greater than would have been given to a non-celebrity in identical circumstances.

Second -- and here’s the really significant revelation – any other female given a 45-day sentence (automatically cut to 23 days for good behavior) would only serve three days since the Sheriff has for years coped with the unconstitutional overcrowding of the jail system by reducing the time served to about 10 percent of court-imposed sentences.

That’s right, folks. You don’t need money or power to get out of jail free (or almost). Paris Hilton should pay the consequences of her defiance of the law, but so should everyone else.

The most important thing to come out of this media circus is a loud alarm waking us up to the ugly facts that most jail sentences in Los Angeles are a sham and that judges, politicians, and the public keep looking the other way.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.