I wonder if they'll do the body cavity search THIS time?

*shudder*

Second!

You know, I wonder if she's got an addiction that we're not hearing about, and is freaking out at least partially from withdrawal.

And, of course, the usual pampered little bitch stuff.

Get 'er done!

See supra 3:16 and accompanying text.

Poor Paris's mom though. What has she done to deserve paralysis?

3:22 - excellent point

If her medical condition was so terrible that she had to be released from jail (which is a first), then why wasn't she released to a hospital? You know, people with AIDS and cancer reside in jails, and they don't get released...they get treated...IN JAIL!

I'm sorry, but I think that there is some corruption going on in the Sheriff's Department. The judge said that they were planning on making a motion to amend her sentence to house arrest, but then failed to do so and just released her. Here's the thing, why is the Sheriff's Department going through so much trouble to get her released?

Sheriff is an elected position...so I'm guessing the Hilton's promised a huge contribution and support...but I doubt he'll get the same from the rest of LA...

"I did have a choice to go to a pay jail," Hilton said Sunday, without giving details. "But I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I'm not and that's why I wanted to go to county, to show that I can do it and I'm going to be treated like everyone else. I'm going to do the time, I'm going to do it the right way."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/04/arts/NA-A-E-CEL-US-Paris-Hilton.php

A "top attorney in LA" argues that Paris Hilton is getting treated special -- not more leniently, but more harshly than an ordinary Jane in the same position. See article at: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3258566&page=1

When are the white people in Brentwood going to riot?

Go, white people! Loot the Starbucks! Set your hybrid cars afire!

Reveeeenge!

She is being treated way too harshly. For non-violent minor offenses like hers, 10% of the sentence is standard. You people are mean vindictive, jealous assholes. It is typical that many of the liberals complain about Paris getting released but then think all the terrorists at Gitmo should be released and have done nothing wrong.

All the money in the world wont cure genital herpes.

dfa at 3:55 -

Spoken from experience?

She's a role model, and therefore a tougher sentence is appropriate.

Anon 3:54 - I like how you classify liberals as wanting to release terrorists. That's typical conservative propaganda. I don't know ONE liberal who thinks "terrorists" should be released from detention. I do know liberals who think "terrorists" should face the judicial system...and not a military secret prison. Fool.

But back to Paris, she's a fool as well.

3:52, that's hilarious. Nice way of pointing out that these O.J. Simpson comparisons are getting ridiculous.

It's worse for me: genital herpes and NO money.

Personally, I'm for keeping Paris AND the terrorists locked up for as long as possible. Any chance of getting Paris declared an enemy combatant?

Did anyone else notice that Paris's hair is dramatically shorter today than it was when she took her mugshot? Perhaps her medical emergency was that shed needed to take her extensions out because they were too itchy. Or did she cut off all her hair in a fit of desperation, a la Brit?

Any chance GeeneParmesan knows how to treat anal herpes?

Can we hear more about the Judge Michael Sauer. HE IS MY HERO.

I'd go to jail for a year if it would get me a BigLaw job.

Seriously, Judge Sauer is judge of the day!

Geene Geene GeeneParmesan is here to say
Stay far far away
I'll treat anal herpes
Just like Jenner is getting their raise

What precautions is LA County taking to make sure that she does not spread her herpes? The public should demand answers!

4:26, she's in solitary anyway.

Lat, as much as I love the Mona Lisa mug shot, I think this post needs the sobbing in the back of a cop car photo.

"She is being treated way too harshly. For non-violent minor offenses like hers, 10% of the sentence is standard. You people are mean vindictive, jealous assholes. It is typical that many of the liberals complain about Paris getting released but then think all the terrorists at Gitmo should be released and have done nothing wrong."

At least Paris has been actually convicted in, you know, a court.

You guys might have to change the name of the blog now as this proves no one gets special treatment. * cough* *cough* *blink*

paris is being sent back to her 8' x 12' jail cell and gets an hour out of her cell for exercise every day.

my office is smaller than that and i have to share. i'm lucky if i get 15 minutes out of the office to grab something for lunch.

Club fed vacation, the antidote to civilization.

Paris is on probation for an offense (DUI) that routinely receives 2 days in jail, to be served with community service. She violated that probation by violating section 14601, driving while suspended.

As fun as it is to excoriate the vacuous rich party girl, the fact remains that a 45 day jail sentence for violating a DUI probation while driving suspended is unprecedented and way beyond the norm.

Second, the LA County Sheriff has more bodies than cells. He is under constitutional mandates to alleviate overcrowding by early release. Judges do not micromanage those decisions, until now.

This judge went overboard on the sentence and overstepped on the remand today. And he did it because he is in the limelight and because the defendant was Paris Hilton, and her early release was politically unpopular.

All of this is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Sorry guys and gals.

5:20, way to ruin a great party.

For about 5 years 80% of my practice was criminal law. I have spent more hours than I can count talking to in-custody clients in jails.

For those of you who have never been inside a county jail facility, it’s easy to be glib about it.

But the whole facility smells of a combination of body odor, excrement, and urine. And the noise is unrelenting, 24/7. And the floors are filthy, often with urine (and worse).

Even 2 hours in a county jail, as an attorney being treated courtesy by staff, is an extremely unpleasant experience.

I cannot help but believe that most of your responses are motivated by jealousy. Paris spends her time on yachts, in fabulous hotel suites, in clubs, and multi-million dollar houses, and she has not worked a day in her life. She is perhaps shallow, but is clearly having a good time with her life. And she is the popular kid you never were. So what? Get over it.

Can anyone who actually knows something about the LA County justice system confirm or deny 5:20's statements, ideally with things like references to statutes and cases-- hell, I'd even settle for newspaper articles-- from which we might draw an informed conclusion on the basis of something more than some anonymous guy on a blog's say-so?

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3834

Judge Forces LA County to End Jail Overcrowdingby Shreema Mehta Oct. 31, 2006 – A federal judge has demanded the Los Angeles County jail system end overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in its temporary holding center.

District Court Judge Dean Pregerson issued the order after touring the jail system in May and September.

In May, Pregerson found four inmates packed into two-inmate cells, and six inmates in four-inmate cells at the Men’s Central Jail. The overcrowding left inmates with no floor space and forced them to stay in their bunks at all times. Inmates only left their cells for family and medical visits and to exercise for three hours a week.

In September, after telling jail officials that cell conditions were "inconsistent with basic human values," the court toured again. This time, it found that conditions at the Men’s Central Jail had improved, but that overcrowding had been shifted to the Inmate Reception Center, where incoming prisoners are processed and held for assignment at other jails.

The court found up to 35 inmates in temporary holding cells at the Reception Center. Those cells were built to hold 20 prisoners. The court added that holding cells, in which some inmates stayed for up to ten hours, were often unsanitary and contained no bunks or mattresses.

Judge Pregerson’s temporary restraining order prohibits holding inmates at the Inmate Reception Center for more than 24 hours. It also requires jail officials to restore incarcerated populations to match cell capacities unless all other options are exhausted.

The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which had also observed severe staffing shortages in its own investigation of LA county jails. The ACLU applauded the order.

"This order means that the nightmarish conditions in our jails cannot be maintained," said Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU/SC legal director, in a statement. "Inmates should not be stripped of the bare requisites of dignity and decency."

Los Angeles Sheriff Department spokesperson Steve Whitmore told the Los Angeles Time his department has "been striving to do exactly what the judge is requesting prior to this restraining order."

"Having said that, we share the judge's concern," he added.

California Department of Corrections data shows that statewide, California prisons are operating at double their capacity. Los Angeles County also has one of the highest incarceration rates in the state.
© 2006 The NewStandard. All rights reserved. The NewStandard is a non-pro

http://www.aclu-sc.org/News/Releases/2006/102232/

http://www.dui-notguilty.com/DUIPenalties.html#3
DUI Sentencing Chart

CRIMINAL SENTENCES FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL AND/OR DRUGS (VEHICLE CODE SECTION 23152)
OFFENSE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SENTENCES WHEN PROBATION IS GRANTED (3 TO 5 YEARS PROBATION TERM) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SENTENCES WITHOUT PROBATION

FIRST Offense within 10 years The Court may order the defendant to serve between 48 hours to 6 months in jail. The Court will impose a fine of $390.00 to $1,000.00 (plus additional “penalty assessments” which will substantially increase the fine) and order defendant to complete a 3-month, 6-month, or 9-month alcohol/drug treatment program. The DMV will impose a 6-month driver’s license suspension, or 1-year suspension if you had a class A license. 96 hours to 6 months in jail, $390 to $1000 fine. The DMV will impose a 6-month driver’s license suspension.

West's Ann.Cal.Penal Code § 4024.3 Next Section

Section 1 of Stats.1995, c. 106 (S.B.485), provides:

"The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

*******
"(b) Los Angeles County has suffered chronic budget problems and does not have the funds to build additional jails or expand existing jail capacity.

"(c) To relieve jail overcrowding, to comply with court orders, and to operate within budget limitations, Sheriff Block has been forced to release jail inmates early and to close facilities such as Pitchess Honor Rancho and Biscailuz Center, causing the release of 3,200 inmates.
*********

Dear 5:33:

Enough info for you?

You know, you have a browser also.

5:32,
If it's "jealousy" to believe that even the "popular kids" should be subject to the same laws-- and the same penalties for breaking them-- as the rest of us are, then I suppose I'm guilty of that. I prefer to think of it as a naive, idealistic belief that the rich and famous aren't always treated more favorably based solely on those characteristics. And the fact that jail is a really unpleasant place to be doesn't do much to enhance my sympathy for Ms. Hilton, when you conveniently neglect to mention the thousands of other inmates, many of whom have "medical problems" of equal seriousness, who weren't let out of jail early just because their lawyer showed up with a private psychologist had a nice chat with the sheriff.

I am not expressing sympathy for Ms. Hilton.

I am simply pointing out that she is being treated MORE harshly as a result of being rich, and related public opinion.

And if not "jealousy", how else do you explain the glee of the posters here at the news that Hilton will now have to serve a full 45 day jail sentence for driving suspended?

Indeed, but for Hilton's fame, and the "love to hate her" public reaction to it, this would not even be a post.

Who should the the Sheriff release early if not a defendant like this, serving an already excessive sentence for a petty crime? The defendant serving time for asault?

http://da.co.la.ca.us/mr/110906a.htm

________________________________________

“District Attorney Steve Cooley… noted that although all county prosecutors preferred that individuals sentenced to county jail serve 100 percent of their time, a longstanding federal court order limiting jail capacity has tied the Sheriff's hands.”

6:37,
The first sentence of the press release you cite says that the new policy "requires all jail inmates to serve at least 25 percent of their sentence before being eligible for release." Hilton was sentenced to 45 days; 25 percent of that would be 11.25 days. So how is it not special treatment to release her after five?

Moreover, unless I'm mistaken, the Sheriff did not claim that Hilton was released due to overcrowding; he claimed that she was released due to a medical condition. Taking him at his word, I'd be curious how many other inmates have been released for whatever "condition" Ms. Hilton is supposedly suffering from.

6:43:

Somene has finally raised a valid point. I do not know what the medical condition, if any, was.

But I do know that according to the CNN article the judge refused to hear or consider medical evidence prior to sending her back to the bucket.

None of this, of course, has anything to do with a 45 day jail sentence for driving on a suspended driver licence.

If everyone received this sentence, fine. But that is far from the case.

6:36 stated that: "Who should the the Sheriff release early if not a defendant like this, serving an already excessive sentence for a petty crime? The defendant serving time for asault?"

It depresses me that you think DUI is a petty crime. It endangers lives. There are numerous people incarcerated for drug offenses that had no chance of harming anyone but themselves.

For 5:32: If having fun with her life puts me or my family in danger, I don't see a reason for light punishment. Also, she clearly showed contempt for her initial light punishment by violating it. She was granted leniency and brought this on herself by violating the suspension. Not because she had to get to work. Hell, she can afford a private driver. She also was apparently late for court. Would you do that for one of your clients? Three strikes and you're out.

7:01,
Are there statistics available on what the usual sentence for being caught driving on a suspended license, for the *second* time, while on probation for DUI generally is in L.A. County? If it's the case that Paris's sentence was significantly in excess of the average sentence, then perhaps she has a valid complaint, but I've seen nothing but unsupported assertions that that's the case.

"But I do know that according to the CNN article the judge refused to hear or consider medical evidence prior to sending her back to the bucket."
The CNN article also says:
"The judge interrupted several times to say that he had received a call last Wednesday from an undersheriff informing him that Hilton had a medical condition and that he would submit papers to the judge to consider. He said the papers never arrived.

Every few minutes, the judge would interrupt proceedings, state the time on the clock, and note that the papers still had not arrived."

It hardly seems unusual for the judge to demand that the defendant submit evidence of an unusual medical condition requiring release *before* being released from jail, rather than being released first and essentially on her own doctor's say-so, with no supporting documentation being submitted to the court. Also, it doesn't appear to be an emergency situation, since she was released to her own home and I've seen no mention of any hospital visit following her departure from jail, so I'm more than a little skeptical that this medical condition is sufficiently serious to justify the Sheriff's unilateral action in releasing her without judicial approval, particularly in light of the court's express ruling that Ms. Hilton not be allowed to serve home confinement.

The Sheriff's department has been inundated with requests for early release of inmates with "medical conditions." Great precedent! Guess what. Everybody has an f'ing "medical condition."

7:01: the papers the judge was waiting for were promised by the Sheriff.

His REFUSAL was to conisder medical evidence proffered by the defense.

I don't know of any published statistics.

But I have been practicing a very long time. The criminal calenders in large counties are more lax on probation violations than in California's less populous venues. You see probation revoked and reinstated with no or little jail time even in felony cases routinely.

And I have never heard of a prior case where a DUI probation was violated by driving suspended, with no booze or drugs involved that resulted in a 45 day sentence.

To me, on a first offense DUI it seems absurd.

Forget this is Paris Hilton for a moment. Does 45 days in jail seem appropriate to you?

This is no club fed. It is a windowless brick room with a metal bed and an exposed toilet in the same room in a smelly, noisy jail facility.

"Forget this is Paris Hilton for a moment. Does 45 days in jail seem appropriate to you?"

Taking into account the good-time deduction and the policy of early release for overcrowding that would, apparently, almost automatically cut the sentence by 25-50%, it doesn't strike me as categorically inappropriate, which is why I'm curious about sentencing statistics for similarly situated offenders. Driving under the influence is a serious offense, as is flouting the leniency of the court by being caught, twice, driving on a suspended license while on probation for DUI. Again, if Paris's sentence really is disproportionate to what the average driver would have received, then that does seem unfair, but the sentence itself doesn't strike me as necessarily unreasonable.

Judge Sauer argued the "Fuck the Draft" case before the Supreme Court back in the day. He's even more awesome then I thought.

Except that Sauer was on the wrong side of that case, and argued that the appellee could be prosecuted for expressing the view "fuck the draft".

And he lost the case.

Not so awsome.

But it does explain his lack of tolerance for PH.

Lat, it looks like gossip-mongers on the interwebs are using your anal herpes scoop without crediting you!

You people are the definition of sadists. Why do you get so much joy at seeing someone suffer who has done nothing to you or committed a serious crime. See a psychiatrist and get a life.

As for Sauer. He is a power hungry jerk like most Judges, who become completely insufferable once they get a tiny bit of publicity.

Go ahead, tell Paris what you think. Here's her jail address, including booking number:

Paris Hilton #9818783
c/o Century Regional Detention Facility
11705 Alameda Street
Lynwood, CA 90262

To Anonymous 8:43 p.m.:
Oh, I don't know, maybe we are not "sadists," but we are sick and tired of seeing the wealthy and privileged flaunt serious obligations such as probation, and do it repeatedly because they can afford to do so?
I have worked in correctional facilities, and yes, they are not picnic facilities, but this woman had a few choices that she could have made before this blew up...she didn't, and now she is paying the price.
Too bad the vast majority of inmates who I came in contact with whose legal representation consisted pretty much of legal aid attorneys who were burned out, underpaid, and unable to mount solid defense. This woman is not one of them.
When the legal system in this country actually provides decent legal representation for the poor, then I might shed a few tears for individuals like her. Until then, forget it.
As for Sauer allegedly being a "power hungry jerk like most judges," all I can say is, how is this different from most in the legal profession (as well as those members of the acting profession in Hollywood??)

Ms. Hilton was not the only high-profile defendant whose celebrity prompted a raised eyebrow from a judge this week. Also on Friday, the judge who sentenced I. Lewis Libby Jr. to prison this week issued an order dripping with sarcasm after receiving a supporting brief from a dozen prominent legal scholars, including Alan M. Dershowitz of Harvard and Robert H. Bork, the former Supreme Court nominee.

The judge, Reggie B. Walton of Federal District Court in Washington, said he would be pleased to see similar efforts for defendants less famous than Mr. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

“The court trusts,” Judge Walton wrote, in a footnote longer than the order itself, that the brief for Mr. Libby “is a reflection of these eminent academics’ willingness in the future to step up to the plate and provide like assistance in cases involving any of the numerous litigants, both in this court and throughout the courts of our nation, who lack the financial means to fully and properly articulate the merits of their legal positions.”

“The court,” he added, “will certainly not hesitate to call for such assistance from these luminaries.”

I believe that Hilton entered a plea of no contest to Reckless Driving, not to DUI.

In California, there seems to be a "wet," i.e., alcohol related, and a "dry," i.e., not alcohol related, reckless disregard but I don't know which her plea was to and how it affects her sentence or probation.

The maximum sentence for reckless driving is 90 days and $1,000 fine.

I posted your herpes gossip elsewhere but I attributed it to "you," and I linked to Abovethelaw.

I hope you go to some hits from it.

Since all similarly situated detainees (first offender nonviolent) are released on the Ten Percent Early Release program at LA County jail, she is being denied that consideration.

Further, if the judge denied her a full hearing by refusing to hear her attorney on her medical condition, that's usually the hook Courts of Appeals use to send it back for rehearings. Fuck this judge and fuck this media seeking city prosecutor. They knew full well how the LA County jail has to process detainees. They are usually just released after 10% of their sentence. The Sheriff wasn't even doing that, he was requiring Hilton to do the entire 23 days on home detention.

I hope his gets his arrogant ass reversed and people in this country, and it would appear here, learn something about equal treatment under the law even for unpopular little twits.

1:16 AM,

What 10 percent release program are you talking about? The press release linked to by 6:43 indicated that L.A. County prisoners are eligible for release after serving 25% of their sentences, not 10%.

Lat, can I just note that THIS kind of story is why people give you shit about labeling women judges and lawyers as "divas"?

There is NOTHING more diva-like than Judge Sauer saying "fuck no" to her appearing by phone, angrily noting the fact the docs hadn't been presented during the hearing multiple times, and tossing her ass back in the slammer "forthwith."

If the judge was a woman -- you'd be all over it. You'd be breathlessly posting about her divalike behavior. You'd be obsessing over her female status.

But ... because it's a man, it goes uncommented. Cause men are ... SUPPOSED to act authoritatively. No comment about his clothes, weight, hairstyle, accessory selection etc.

That's why the diva shit gets tired, because it's sexist. I think it might be hard for you to see that as a non-female yourself, but ... just FYI. It's sexist to have a humorous recurring joke on your blog that basically reduces any woman with any kind of authority or success to a tempermental character out of Dynasty. You don't analyze the "elegance" of every man you write about.

Conan said the movie version of this trial will be called "The Whore Skank Redemption."

Gee...that's the last time I blow THAT sheriff!

"Why do you get so much joy at seeing someone suffer who has done nothing to you or committed a serious crime. "

Don't forget that she showed up LATE to her violation hearing, basically committed perjury on the stand and had one of her yesmen, her PR guy, do the same (the lawyers were too smart to get on stand and lie for her), and at the end of it her mother screamed "Can I have your autograph? this is PATHETIC" in the courtroom after she was originally sentenced.

She's too stupid to respect the judge. Bad move.

9:36, I think I love you.

I do wonder what kind of posts we'd be getting if Judge Sauer happened to be born with a vagina.

And god forbid the vagina'd Sauer not fit the stereotype of a "lady of a certain age" or of a "Stepford wife." God forbid she didn't have a perfectly frosted ash-blonde coif and string of pearls, or wasn't slender, or wasn't dressed like Nancy Reagan circa 1983. Then she'd REALLY be in for it.

Interesting post from elsewhere on internet:

"The sheriff has no experience with wealthy socialites. I once worked in Manhattan's Doctor's Hospital (long gone now), which only existed for rich people. The thing to do with those flighty socialite bitches was to smile, 'yes' them to death and get their asses out of there ASAP. They are entitled neurotic whackjobs who fold under pressure and get hysterical. Really, really hysterical.

Imagine you are someone who is used to getting your own way simply by pouting. Then one day you pout and it doesn't work. So you cry. Nothing changes. You totally freak out and scream. Still no change. You lose it. You scream, tear your hair, drool, you shake all over and start 'jogging in place' as we called it. They pull at their faces and they puke. It's like a cornered animal because they really are cornered. They have no understanding of how to behave so they try to climb the walls to get out.

They need to be medicated just like animals need a tranquilizer gun. They totally can't cope and they are determined to drive you crazy if you don't let them go."

Greta Van Susteren seems to be implying here that the shakes and tics indicate she's going through some kind of drug withdrawal?

Anonymous 09:40, actually it was "The Shawskank Redemption."

Dear LADD | June 8, 2007 07:04 PM :

1. Drug offenders are no longer incarcerated in California. Rather, probation + treatment is automatic and no longer a matter of judicial discretion.

2. The legal limit for DUI in California is .08% B by volume. That means just about everyone leaving a fine dining restaurant would be arrested for DUI if unlucky enough to be pulled over. And in the scheme of things, DUI is a “petty crime”, compared to theft, assault ect. ect. Even Winona Rider did not get 45 days in jail for stealing thousands of dollars in clothing from a boutique. (As I recall, she did no time at all.)

Los Angeles Times

Hilton will do more time than most, analysis finds
By Jack Leonard and Doug Smith, Times Staff Writers
June 14, 2007

Paris Hilton will end up serving more time behind bars THAN THE VAST MAJORITY OF INMATES SENT TO L.A. COUNTY JAIL FOR SIMILAR OFFENSES, according to a Times analysis of jail records.

Whether Hilton received special treatment from the Sheriff's Department has become the subject of much debate since Sheriff Lee Baca last week allowed the hotel heiress to go home after less than four full days in jail, despite a promise that she would serve 23 days of a 45-day sentence.
The Times ANALYZED 2 MILLION JAIL RELEASES AND FOUND 1,500 CASES SINCE JULY 2002 THAT — LIKE HILTON'S — INVOLVED DEFENDANTS WHO HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOR DRUNK DRIVING AND LATER SENTENCED TO JAIL AFTER A PROBATION VIOLATION OR DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE.

Had Hilton left jail for good after FOUR DAYS, her stint behind bars WOULD HAVE BEEN SIMILAR TO THOSE SERVED BY 60% OF THOSE INMATES.

But after a judge sent her back to jail Friday, Hilton's attorney announced that she would serve the full 23 days. That means that HILTON WILL END UP SERVING MORE TIME THAN 80% OF OTHER PEOPLE IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS.

The findings came as some critics accused Baca of showing favoritism to Hilton and as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors launched an investigation into whether the multimillionaire received special treatment because of her wealth and fame.

The data also underscore the profound effect of the Sheriff's Department's early-release program, which sets inmates free before their sentences are up to ease overcrowding.

Before the early-release program began in 2002, inmates with cases similar to Hilton's were sentenced to terms that amounted to an average of 23 days, the same as Hilton is expected to serve. They actually served 20 days. After the program began, the average term was 14 days, with inmates actually serving an average of four days.

Because of the high media interest, Hilton was one of only a few inmates whose premature release received publicity — and the judge who originally sentenced her noticed. She is believed to be the first inmate in years who actually was sent back to jail to serve more of her term.

"Twenty-three days would be considerably more than the average person given her sentence would actually serve," said Stan Goldman, professor of criminal law and procedure at Loyola Law School. "The jails are so overcrowded that even though overcrowding is not the reason for her release, it colors every release decision from the jails system."

Baca's release of Hilton because of undisclosed medical problems touched off a storm of protest. Last year, the department released only three inmates on medical grounds, a spokesman said.

One of the most vocal critics, civil rights activist Najee Ali, said Wednesday that Hilton ought to be released if inmates sentenced for similar crimes were serving less time. He continued to criticize Baca's decision to cite medical problems for the release, but added that only dangerous offenders should serve their full sentences given the jail's need to limit overcrowding.

"Clearly, her violation is not as serious, so she should be released," said Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope. "The rules of fairness should be applied equally."

Hilton was sentenced to 45 days for violating probation on alcohol-related, reckless-driving charges from an incident in September. Police stopped her while she was driving during the period that her license was suspended.

If Hilton does serve the 23 days, she will have done about the same amount of time as 4,000 inmates who since 2002 had been charged with assaults, as well as more than 1,800 charged with burglary, more than 2,600 charged with domestic violence and nearly 11,000 charged with drug violations.

Over the last five years, more than 200,000 inmates have been released early. Baca started the releases during a budget crunch that he said left him no choice but to shut large portions of the nation's largest county correctional system. Though economic times have since improved, a federal court has ordered his department to reduce chronic overcrowding in the jails, hampering efforts to keep inmates longer.

The Times' analysis of jail releases found that more than 60% of those with cases similar to Hilton's walked free after serving less than half their time. UNDER THE DEPARTMENT'S CURRENT GUIDELINES, HILTON PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SERVED EVEN LESS TIME. MOST NONVIOLENT FEMALE OFFENDERS SENTENCED TO LESS THAN 90 DAYS ARE RELEASED IMMEDIATELY.
ARE YOU LISTENING DUMBELLS?