Illegally Blonde: Was Justice Served?

THE LAW IS AN ASS -- Charles Dickens

As did the O.J. Simpson murders and other high-profile cases before it, the jailing, home detention and reincarceration of Paris Hilton has provided another window into the American legal system, and once again many of its flaws and outright biases have been on display for all the world to see and fulminate over.

We need to be perfectly clear about a fact of life before proceeding:

The application of the law is, as Mr. Dickens alluded to 150 years ago, an imperfect thing.

Furthermore, although something called the Bill of Rights is the foundation of American jurisprudence, laws and legal procedures are applied and interpreted differently in different jurisdictions.

Which is to say the adjudication of a case of someone like Ms. Hilton with a drunk driving conviction who was twice busted for driving on a suspending license in Los Alamos might bear only passing resemblance to how it is being adjudicated in Los Angeles.

Add to that the burdens on the legal system -- including not enough cops and jail cells and too many perps -- and you have a recipe for a really big mess.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, on to the main event:

There is no question that from the outset of her journey through the legal system, Paris Hilton was treated differently because she was a rich white woman and a celebrity to boot.

But in pulling her from the house arrest granted by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and ordering her to serve out the entirety of rest of her term in prison, Judge Michael Sauer overreacted.

So there you have it: Paris Hilton was treated too fairly and then unfairly.

I rest my case.