Paris Cries 'Mom!' As She is Jailed Again

Jun 09, 08:54 AM

Current Headlines: By CRAIG BROWN

SOCIALITE Paris Hilton was ordered back to jail last night to serve the remainder of her full, 45-day sentence for violating probation.

The hotel heiress, 26, was led from the court screaming after the decision by Supreme Court Judge Michael Sauer.

She wailed: "Mom, Mom. It's not right!" as she was escorted from the Los Angeles court by sheriff's deputies. Prosecutors had called the hearing, demanding she be returned to jail after the Los Angeles Sheriff's department released her to serve her sentence tagged, at home.

She had been transferred to house arrest for unspecified medical reasons only three days into her 23-day sentence, reduced on condition of good behaviour from 45 days, for alcohol-related reckless driving.

Brought to court handcuffed in a sheriff's car, Hilton came into the courtroom crying. Her hair was askew and she wore a grey sweatshirt over slacks. She wore no make-up and cried throughout the hearing. She shook constantly and dabbed at her eyes. Several times she turned to her parents, seated behind her in court, and mouthed: "I love you."

Hilton's release, and the decision to allow her to serve the time at her Hollywood Hills home, angered civil rights leaders who argued it gave her favours not available to less famous inmates.

The hearing was requested by the city attorney's office, which had prosecuted Hilton. They want Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca held in contempt for sending her home, fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet.

Baca also angered Judge Sauer, who made clear during sentencing that he did not want Hilton to serve house detention.

He issued the order for Hilton to return to court on Thursday night.

She had failed a breathalyser test on 7 September after police saw her Mercedes weaving along a Hollywood street on what she claimed was a late-night run to a hamburger stand.

The star of The Simple Life pleaded no contest (effectively an admission of guilt) to the reckless driving charge and was sentenced to 36 months' probation. She was later pulled over by the California Highway Patrol and told she was driving on a suspended licence and signed a document saying she was not to drive.

But she was again caught driving by sheriff's deputies on 27 February and charged with violating probation.

After being sent to jail this week, she spent three days in a solitary cell, according to her lawyer Richard Hutton. Reports claimed she spent the first two nights crying.

On Thursday she was given an ankle tag and allowed to return to her eight-bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills. A clearly annoyed Judge Sauer told the court yesterday: "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home on Kings Road."

Assistant City Attorney Dan Jeffries said Hilton should be returned to jail, but added that was purely the judge's decision. "Her release after only three days erodes confidence in the judicial system," he said.

Hilton's lawyer, Mr Hutton, asked the judge to order a hearing in his chambers at which he would hear evidence about Hilton's medical condition before making a decision. But the judge did not respond to that suggestion.

He said he had not been given details of the medical condition that prompted her release. Speculation has ranged from a rash to a nervous breakdown.

Los Angeles city attorney Rocky Delgadillo said yesterday's decision "sends the message that no individual, no matter how wealthy or powerful, is above the law".

But despite being ordered to serve the remainder of her original 45-day sentence, Hilton could still be released early. Inmates are given a day off their terms for every four days of good behaviour, and her days in home detention will be counted as time served.

THE JUDGE: HERO OR VILLAIN?

LAST night Judge Michael T Sauer (right) emerged as America's biggest hero or - to fans of Paris Hilton - its biggest villain.

Judge Sauer is a devout Christian, which perhaps explains why Hilton was seen carrying a Bible and wearing a crucifix before sentencing. Already given a standing ovation at his local church for jailing the socialite last month, Mr Sauer has been bewildered by media attention surrounding the case. He said in a recent interview: "I'm amazed on the amount of talk about this case."

Raised in Los Angeles, he attended law school before taking up a post in the city attorney's office. Appointed to LA's municipal court in 1972 by the then governor, Ronald Reagan, he was elevated to the Superior Court in 2000. Three years later he move from criminal cases to "misdemeanour arraignments" like traffic offences.

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