Friday, June 8, 2007
What am I missing?
I'm getting mighty sick of the ranting and raving about how excessive the sentence is for PH. Of course 40 days in jail is excessive for a first DUI but that's not what the sentence was for. She was sentenced because of three subsequent blatant violations (not one, not two, but three): first she drove with a suspended license and claimed not to know she wasn't supposed to, second she did it a second time and claimed she didn't know (blah blah) and was given probation and told that she would receive a jail sentence if she violated it again. It's not complicated. So why do commentators just blow right over that?
And there's the medical records. The ones her lawyers failed to submit as part of their argument against jail time. The ones the sheriff was holding in his hands. The ones he claims were the basis for his letting her out. He never petitioned or even met with the judge about the medical issues to shorten or overturn her sentence. Instead, he violated the court order and took upon himself powers he simply doesn't have. And apparently this isn't even close to the first time he's done this.
So why does the sheriff get away with this? He didn't even bother to show up on court today (although then he might have been sent straight to jail himself!). He should be hauled into court and reprimanded for taking powers to himself that his office does not provide. Even more, he should be cited for contempt for violating a court order. We all knew so clearly he knew that the sentencing order stated clearly and explicitly that there should be no electronic monitoring, no change to house arrest, no work release or weekends off, no shortening of the (already halved) sentence. And yet Sheriff Baca made no petition to the court, simply went and altered the terms of the sentence himself. It's the equivalent of giving the judge and Lady Justice the finger and then claiming he's waving to someone.
By the way, PH is supposedly incredibly upset and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But guess what she did last night? She had a welcome home party. Guess what she was doing thig morning? She was planning a party and getting her hair extensions refreshed. I'm not making this up. There are photos. Yes, it was party planning that she had to stop when the judge ordered her to the courthouse rather than participate via phone. That's when she started the crying and screaming about how unfair it all is. Can you say "farce" and "phony"??
Keep in mind that obeying the original 90 days' license suspension would have avoided all this. Nobody likes being in jail but if you don't do something that might result in jail, it won't happen.
And there's the medical records. The ones her lawyers failed to submit as part of their argument against jail time. The ones the sheriff was holding in his hands. The ones he claims were the basis for his letting her out. He never petitioned or even met with the judge about the medical issues to shorten or overturn her sentence. Instead, he violated the court order and took upon himself powers he simply doesn't have. And apparently this isn't even close to the first time he's done this.
So why does the sheriff get away with this? He didn't even bother to show up on court today (although then he might have been sent straight to jail himself!). He should be hauled into court and reprimanded for taking powers to himself that his office does not provide. Even more, he should be cited for contempt for violating a court order. We all knew so clearly he knew that the sentencing order stated clearly and explicitly that there should be no electronic monitoring, no change to house arrest, no work release or weekends off, no shortening of the (already halved) sentence. And yet Sheriff Baca made no petition to the court, simply went and altered the terms of the sentence himself. It's the equivalent of giving the judge and Lady Justice the finger and then claiming he's waving to someone.
By the way, PH is supposedly incredibly upset and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But guess what she did last night? She had a welcome home party. Guess what she was doing thig morning? She was planning a party and getting her hair extensions refreshed. I'm not making this up. There are photos. Yes, it was party planning that she had to stop when the judge ordered her to the courthouse rather than participate via phone. That's when she started the crying and screaming about how unfair it all is. Can you say "farce" and "phony"??
Keep in mind that obeying the original 90 days' license suspension would have avoided all this. Nobody likes being in jail but if you don't do something that might result in jail, it won't happen.
Labels: celebrities, headlines, ridiculousness
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