Paris Hilton is returned to jail after the sentencing judge intervened in the Sheriff’s decision to release her. The case is, inevitably, attracting a great deal of attention on the US news and it may well be that Paris Hilton is becoming a pawn in a turf war between prison authorities and the judiciary
I make no comment on that – but, just as interesting – a comment by a judge in another high profile celebrity case – from a US paper: “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 Dershowitz of Harvard and Robert Bork, the former Supreme Court nominee.
The judge, Reggie Walton of Federal District Court in Washington, said he would be pleased to see similar efforts for defendants less famous than 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 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
Full story International Herald Tribune
Good stuff… quite right. The judge makes a very good point.
Meanwhile, in the interests of serious research, I have visited the Official Paris Hilton website. It is somewhat ironic that under the heading “Appearances” – the website states “There are no current appearances.”
Sometimes…life is worth living…. and on that note – I am off to do some more reading on the net before meeting a few topers for a glass or two.
Leave a comment