Law Today: Paris Hilton’s Case and Two-Tiered Justice

QUESTION: Does the U.S. have a two-tiered justice system — one for the rich and/or famous, and one for the rest of us?

APRIL MASINI: You bet it does! The law is very difficult to understand by normal people let alone educated people. Lawyers who have trained in law are the most adept at understanding this language that is not required education in high schools, yet most lawyers cost more than people who need them can afford.

The only people who ever do well, consistently in court, win or lose, are the lawyers who make anywhere from $150 to $1,050 an hour, and that’s not just for court time. That’s for phone time, writing letter, researching cases and messengering letter time.

QUESTION: Is this a real story or a journalistic contrivance leaped on by journalists every time there is a celebrity trial?

APRIL MASINI: The disparity between the rich and the poor is an old story. The disparity in justice that is afforded Americans based on their disposable income is very much a story. Poor people have less justice than rich people.

QUESTION: Are there valid insights into our legal system or just more hype and obfuscation heaped on by reporters who need a story?

APRIL MASINI: There are valid insights into our legal system, and there is more hype and obfuscation by reporters who have time or space to fill. One story is that the jails are overcrowded and the court system is overcrowded, and the sheriff IS in fact in charge of his jail and the judge IS in fact in charge of his courtroom, but there is not enforceable cooperation between the sheriff and the judge. A story on this matter was avoided in the Paris Hilton event. The City Attorney in Los Angeles tried to hold the sheriff in contempt — a serious legal matter, but the judge dismissed the contempt charge. Why he dismissed the contempt charge is a question that has not been answered.

The other story that is not being told is the overcrowding of jails and the problem of what to do with them, and how valid a judicial sentence is if the sheriff can overrule it — and frequently does because of jail crowding.

And then there’s the fact that Paris Hilton clearly got better care in jail because her family could afford very expensive attorneys working around the clock to achieve the Hiltons’ goals or as many and as much of them as possible. Most people cannot afford this kind of legal expense, and most lawyers, knowing their clients can’t afford it, won’t attempt these measures. You get what you pay for in most cases.

QUESTION: If it is a legitimate story, what can we say about Paris Hilton’s case that makes the case?

APRIL MASINI: There is a fascinating psychological aspect to Ms. Hilton’s case — that she and her buddies, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Britney Spears are all acting like men. These women are driving around, doing drugs and alcohol and driving under the influence or with their babies on their laps and not in car seats — when they clearly all have enough money to hire drivers, and forgetting or purposefully omitting their panties — when clearly they can afford the sale rack at Victoria’s Secret and then some. There was once a time when ladies behaved like ladies. These young women have a need for (false) control, attention and wild behavior that is historically associated with testosterone driven guys. Where are their husbands and boyfriends? And why is the only husband in the bunch one that was basically “purchased”?

It’s sad that these young women were never taught that laws are meant to be respected. The world is doing the job that should have been done in their homes when they were children. At taxpayer’s expense. Ms. Hilton may be footing her legal bills, but the rest of us are paying for her court time and jail time.

But most importantly it remains that crimes way worse than Ms. Hilton’s are happening daily, and justice is not served because it isn’t dressed as well or made up as well as she is. The average Joe doesn’t make for such good reading.