Hilton Drama Improbable in Va.: Area Professionals Say Judges Ensure No Special Treatment

Jun 09, 09:20 AM

Current Headlines: By Cynthia McMullen, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

Jun. 9--The Paris Hilton story couldn't happen here, say legal and justice professionals in the Richmond area.

The ongoing saga of the Hollywood socialite/hotel heiress/entertainer's court case is the stuff B-movie scriptwriters live and die for.

It's also the stuff that ticks off mere mortals.

"This would not happen in Virginia," said Steve Benjamin, a Richmond-based criminal defense lawyer. "My impression is it's just the opposite.

"Judges bend over backward to make sure there's not the perception of special treatment."

Hilton was allowed to leave jail after serving three days of her 23-day sentence, which had been reduced from the original 45. But a Los Angeles judge sent her back to jail yesterday.

L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca said Thursday that she would be put under house arrest for 40 days.

The sheriff defended his decision, citing jail crowding -- although Hilton was in a special unit and did not have a cellmate -- and what he termed "severe medical problems."

He said he had learned from one of her doctors that she was not taking a medication while previously in custody, and that her "inexplicable deterioration" puzzled county psychiatrists.

"The problem is the message it sends about the criminal justice system," Benjamin said. "It reinforces the impression that wealth, standing and celebrity mean a different set of rules."

Los Angeles County Superior Judge Michael T. Sauer apparently agreed, having ordered Hilton to report back to court yesterday.

"I at no time condoned the actions of the sheriff and no time told him I approved the actions," he said.

Jim Roberts, senior partner at Troutman Sanders law firm in Richmond, said that's what would have happened in Virginia if a sheriff had taken action without court approval.

Here, Roberts said, a sheriff would have filed a motion or request, appeared before the court, and explained or produced testimony asking for modification of the sentence based on the medical condition.

Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody is on the same page.

If the case had come up in Richmond and he was involved, Woody said, he would have conferred with the judge before making a decision.

But, he added, reflecting the opinions of many a blogger after Hilton was led screaming and crying from the courtroom yesterday, "Paris Hilton is getting entirely too much attention.

"She is no better and no worse than anyone else, and she should serve her time like everyone else."

Contact Cynthia McMullen at cmcmullen@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6361.

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