Last Friday, a visibly shaken and crying Paris Hilton was sentenced to to 45 days in jail by a judge who ruled that she had knowingly violated the terms of her probation. Hilton was ticketed for driving without a license, which had been suspended after a California DUI incident last year.
Hilton’s spokesperson Elliot Mintz told the court Friday that he was responsible for telling the 26-year old socialite and party girl that she could drive for “work-related” purposes. The judge rejected that attempt to divert responsibility and cited a form signed by the Hilton during a traffic stop in January where she acknowledged she was not to drive. Hilton fired Mintz on Saturday.
She is scheduled to enter the Century Regional Detention Facility for Women in Lynwood, California on June 5, though her defense attorney is planning an appeal.
Hilton said, “I feel that I was treated unfairly and that the sentence is both cruel and unwarranted. I don’t deserve this.”
Paris’ parents, Kathy and Rick Hilton, are thought to be exploring connections to keep her out of jail or get the sentence reduced. Others speculate that Kathy Hilton may try to capitalize on the event by offering an exclusive interview or even angling for a new reality show on Paris’ time in jail.
California DUI defense attorneys find Hilton’s jail sentence not out of the ordinary for someone who had been arrested for DUI and was subsequently stopped multiple times driving with a suspended license. What was slightly unusual is that the judge ordered Hilton to serve the entire 45-day sentence recommended by the city attorney, but perhaps that was in response to the perception that Hilton had not taken her arrest seriously and was trying to see what she could get with.