June 11, 2007
 
COMMENTARY: California Jail House Madness:
Screaming, trembling Paris Hilton Ordered Back to Slammer; Sheriff Retrieval An Eerie Reminder of Princess Di's Car Crash; And, Now, She Wants To Serve Sentence
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
 
Whether you receive ‘justice,’ depends on whether you win or lose in court. Although the slogan, “And Justice for All,” suggests a ‘blind’ impartial system, the inequities of the judicial system may now turn heiress Paris Hilton into a martyr or a champion for all that is wrong with our so-called fair and impartial system of justice in a democratic country.
 
The Court of Public Opinion bellows that the door slam and let the woman end up in a locked-down psychiatric facility for the callousness of the botched process. In fact, although the sheriff may have misspoken his words, if he has authority to release prisoners for overcrowding, a strong case can be made that many, many personnel must tend to the celebrity, not her ‘whining,’ but for her own protection.
 
Lawyers indicated that the sheriff had the power to let her go for overcrowding. Perhaps, the sheriff took the best interests of all in play when he dumped her back on her family who can afford extensive psychiatric therapy.
 
Or, has the heiress been taking ‘acting’ lessons? She must have a good director, since FOX NEWS Greta Van Susteren , a former prosecutor, sided with Hilton’s precarious courtroom mental state, criticizing attorneys for not filing an immediate appeal.
 
Judging from the latest statement, though, after a couple hours with a shrink who likely pumped her full of drugs, now she’s acting like a strong woman stating, “I want to drop my appeals and serve my sentence.”
 
That’s what happened in May, except the attorneys had immediately appealed and they dropped it. Now, perhaps, that why her legal counsel have not rushed to the courthouse to file the notice. But, should ‘her attorneys’ listen explicitly to a client already arguably unstable?
 
Let’s see if in two, four or six days, Paris is still stable, in a personal damage control mood, or if the shrink was allowed to keep giving her meds in the Twin Towers facility.
 
Actually, Sheriff Lee Baca has apparently revised his “she will stay in the medical facility at least through the weekend” to “the remainder of her sentence there.” That could explain the woman’s shift in strategy.
 
Meanwhile, A jurisdictional issue festers: The power of the sheriff to release non-violent inmates from an overcrowded system under a federal court order. Does the federal order trump the one from the judge in the Hilton case? Forcing the sheriff to comply might set a precedent involving the thorny separation of the judicial from the jailer (in California) and the priority of the federal versus state court order. Then, too, the ankle bracelet cost about $80 bucks a day while the increase personnel guarding her runs $1,500 a day. For those who argue about best use of resources, well, do the math.
 
As Hilton now urges media to concentrate on the men and women serving in Iraq, I have a more pertinent suggestion --- Once stabilized and if sincere, the celebrity serving an arguably long sentence could embrace an organization such as The Innocence Project or start a foundation that assists the rights violations in California jails, specifically for those who need a private physician, shrink, or famed attorney to examine their cases.
 
Taking on a cause such as this would demonstrate Hilton’s personal “growth,” and might turn her into a champion for prison rights, rather, than being taunted as a poster child for the ‘rich’ versus the ‘poor’ in America.
 
Then, there’s the drama that played out on television screens Friday of handcuffing and reeling in the distressed Hilton would traumatize anyone, especially an individual already ‘fearing’ the system that has lost control of its own procedures, which could be a slam dunk on why so many parolees --- for felonies --- end up back in the jailhouse where they are ‘comfortable.’
 
The escorted and heavily televised trip to the courthouse , to me, had an eerie reminder of the gossip photographers chasing Princess Di’s vehicle, which may have been at least a partial cause of the tunnel accident that took her life. I’d bet that either an attorney or the sheriff told the woman she could appear via phone. The judge’s order was reckless, egocentric, and an abuse of power.
 
Furthermore, the angry “your honor” refused to hear arguments about the prisoner’s medical condition. Both in chambers and in the courtroom. Based on those California legal interpretations, he toppled the precipice of abuse of power, particularly since the Sheriff’s news conference which revealed that the heiress originally reported to jail in a “medicated” state?
 
Judges have absolute immunity for their actions in a court of law in a civil sense. An appeal is the method of overturning their errors. But, the judge can become personally liable for acting outside of his jurisdiction. Thus, if the sheriff has the discretion to release prisoners in California, the judge lost his legal jurisdiction.
 
As for Hilton’s earlier complaints about detention center solitary confinement, I talked, in brief, briefly with former federal prosecutor Paul Farrell, currently a member of Huntington City Council and an attorney. Asked specifically whether regional jail inmates spend 23 hours a day in their cells, he said the inmates spend most of their time in a pod or day area, not solitary.
 
Laughing slightly as the State of West Virginia has zero or few celebrities of Hilton’s stature, Farrell did describe “isolation cells if somebody for a valid reason needs to be kept from the general population.”
 
However, under West Virginia law, the jailer does not have the discretion to let inmates out prematurely -- except for accumulation of that earned for good behavior.
 
Still, Hilton’s solitary confinement for “her own safety” troubles me, as it’s not her fault that she must be kept from the general population. However, the lack of a facility to let her spend an equal amount of time outside her cell in a day room or pod reeks of the argument that she’s been treated more harshly than an ordinary person due to her fame, fragility, or physical condition.
 
Without naming cases or judges, I can point to "power" trips by judges in West Virginia, ranging from the Your Honor who came off the bench and punched a defendant to another who seethed at a pro se litigant for his insistence on stressing his audio taped evidence. The litigant's persistence landed him in the old Cabell County Jail for contempt. But, the jail personnel would not provide him paper , pen and notary to file an appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court.
 
After he witnessed abuse of a prisoner in a wheelchair, someone sent him to a cell with the most violent inmates. Luckily, a week or so later, he called a reporter from a phone accidentally left on in the jail. The reporter called the Clerk of the Supreme Court, who agreed to accept his petition unnotorized. Once mailed to Charleston, before the high court acted, the judge released the prisoner, who by this time suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Was he accused of a serious felony or misdemeanor? No, it was a landlord tenant dispute.
 
One need only look to Wayne County’s settlements of cases involving county jail officials forcing up to five women to run topless through the men’s section and other manners of sexual assault. Although a sealed civil settlement was entered, no criminal prosecution occurred. In fact, in defense of the jail officials actions, one said, “but these are not church-going women.”
 
By the way, although you may be seething in disagreement, I’m making a big, big assumption here --- that Paris has not been vying for the Best Actress Emmy for a Reality Show (and only medical personnel hold the sealed envelope) . I’m assuming her conditions are legitimate and that based on a network TV challenge from a prominent L.A. attorney, the average sentence for parole violation in California amounts to only a few days. But, that research is for an enterprising investigative reporter who want to FOIA court records.
 
She’s guilty of driving on a suspended license and drunk driving. A good penalty would be to do lectures to kids on it , about the horrors of jail, and have a lock on all her expensive cars that prevents it from igniting if she has liquor on her breath. For that matter, she does not need to drive; let a chauffeur do it for her.
 
While the media spotlight created the holding athletes and movie stars up to higher public scrutiny, the anger of the public at the already unfair judicial system should not be an excuse to allow the heiress to become the next Francis Farmer, an actress whose drinking led her to a lunatic asylum. Oh, you ask, that’s why Paris’ is jailed. May be, but the punishment has turned into a political public opinion power struggle. Unless she’s banking on an Emmy award nomination for Best Reality Actress (and only medical personnel know for sure), L.A. County does not have the personnel to protect the 20something celebrity from others and herself.
 
Would not it be best for the city and county to cut their losses before they expend not simply extra monies to watch over the woman, but incur serious legal fees as appeals mount. For that matter, considering the ‘power’ issues, the fragile mental state of the heiress it may be only a matter of time before something worse happens on the Sheriff’s and County’s watch, which will cost millions in liability and cost the ‘star’ any chance of gaining positive learning from the humiliating rush to push her around.