"The Judge ... ordered her to attend a drug treatment programme."

But surely she's been treating herself to drugs for ages. In fact, being able to render herself mobile in a vehicle whilst under the influence of a typical Hollywood cocktail, I would suggest that she is extremely well practiced in the "art".

What a wonderful example of the US Penal system, and its favouritism towards celebutards (love that word.)

Honestly is there any point in giving them the sentences ? I mean they spend a grand total of mere minutes or hours, or at the most a few days in these penal correction institutions. Despite their whining and crying and demanding their psychologists etc these 'prison' sentences are like an austere day spa for them. A few days of simple Buddhist like lifestyle, and et voila they a reborn. (See Paris Hilton for reference.)

Its a mockery of the penal system and what its there for, and just reinforces the view that celebrities get away with anything and everything !!

I bet the white collar working in the adjoining court that admitted to only being drunk in charge got a lot longer sentence than that...

I thought the threat of jail was suppossed to be a deterrant???

Some deterrant, 4 day sentenance and just shown where she could but probably won't be staying if she does it again.

Driving the wrong way down a highway is now considered non violent? Who would have thought it

If they are sentencing people to time inside but releasing them within 12 hours anyway. Then what's the point of sentencing them to "do time" at all. Effectively it isn't a sentence at all. Better all round to punish them in a different way.

Before anyone posts the "where's the IT angle" knee-jerk post. Can I point out that this is in the "Odds and Sods" section and so does not need one? Yes? Jolly good.

.. black, She's not poor, and she didn't put a large hole in the judges share portfolio.

Of course she wasnt going to do jail time.

presumably this person is another unknown american airhead soap/porn/musicstar. Who gives a f***?

They may as well have just made her wait on line to get her license renewed for all the time it took. I was sentenced to two hours at the local motor vehicle registry recently. My crime? I wanted to get a trailer registered. Where's the justice???

I'm sorry, but if you want to look at great examples of the penal system, look at that idiot Pete Doherty. How many times has he been arrested for drugs / drink offenses and been let go without charge?

... doing the damn paperwork on this than she actually spent inside. I cannot understand the logic of this kind of treatment of celebutards. Surely, make an example of them, show the country that this type of behavious WILL get you hard time, and more than an hour and a half of it!

...in the stocks in Compton (or any other dodgy neighbourhood) might be seen as a punishment

And your prejudice is sadly justified by just this kind of case. As, I'm sad to suggest, will be many many many other peoples likely less (I dare to give credit in hope) ironic prejudices.

The sooner this is stopped (why do they even have "celebrity prisons" ... that is surely missing the point all together ?) the sooner people will stop claiming discrimination.

Oh, sorry, I forgot, this is discrimination, but it's positive right so that's OK ?

('celebutards' - fabulous!)

For a comparison in sentencing (this is really for our US readers) for a similar offence in the UK, check this story (btw, the M1 is a 'freeway'):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6404339.stm

And this is what happens to barely-teens drink drivers:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1384983,00.html

No chance of this happening in the US of A anytime soon I guess...

Yep don't get me started on Pete DOHerty. Less "off to half -arsed attempts of rehab" and more "Off to clink for you matey boy for a nice long sentence of no drugs and lots of buggery !!"

New law, if your income is in the top 10 percent you don't go to jail...

C'mon Ron. Neither of those people were celebrities.... Any normal person in the States would not only go to prison, but maybe even PMITA prison if they did half the stuff RIchie, Hilton, and Lohan do on a daily basis.

"Who gives a f***?"

Well, true, she's someone I've never heard of either, but her story is instructive when comparing sentences.

Celebrity nobody, clear and present danger to life careening the wrong way down a highway: 90 minutes in jail and pervasive publicity.

Ordinary nobody, no personal danger, sharing a DVD on BitTorrent: 5 months in jail or pervasive monitoring.

Useful reference material for the "American Justice" folder. Note to self: become a minor celeb before I next go to the states.

OTOH, American Justice has given us the SCO ruling and the Dover ruling, so it can't be all bad.

Given that Paris Hilton had to serve "all" her days and Nicole Ritchie was only in in long enough to get used to the 'odeur' of the place I think it amounts to a "get out of trouble" card for the sheriff who initially allowed her out with a tag.

Yup - it DOES depend who you are :-)

Someone sends spam/bots/etc and costs Corporations millions and they do years and years. Someone drives so stoned they drive the wrong way, and put society at risk (she could kill someone hitting them head on), and they do an hour and a bit? I can picture lady justice on this one, she has a feather at one end and sack of potatoes at the other, and she sure is fighting to keep it balanced.

Yes, well, APPARANTLY, this great big world outside isn't actually 'fair'.

Is it "free" you're looking for?

The world is Soooo unfair to her, demanding a horrid 82 minutes of hellish jail. OMG!

Let's see, maybe next time it should be 93 minutes and 17 seconds. THAT would teach her!

What a sorry indictment of the best American justice that money can buy. And her attorney probably thought s/he was doing a good thing for her. I think that attorney just tilled fertile ground for somebody to die next time. Hopefully it's not an innocent.

<quote>

Yes, well, APPARANTLY, this great big world outside isn't actually 'fair'.

</quote>

I'm glad the world isn't fair, could you imagine what it would be like if everything that happened to you was because you actually deserved it?

Yes you have to wait till someone actually does something

before you punish them for it it's required If I was jailed

for every time I thought about killing someone with my

bare hands I would never get out many of you probably

would have shared my fate no one will ever know how

close I came to being guilty of something as I never did it

just try and get me. All of this is because of that mothers

against whatever might be a threat crap same as terrorists

same as bird flu and all the other shit people try to scare you

with it's just a bunch of hysterical bullshit. More people

die in hospitals as a result of elective surgery than die from

any of the things I mentioned above and I don't notice anyone

placing doctors in the clink.

It's all sooooooo true.

The irony, of course, is that these spoilt fekkers are parading themselves around as "what you wanna be", and then if you do as they do... it's Josephine Average Public who gets thrown in the slammer for the duration and Spoilt Media Brat that spends less time incarcerated than it takes for the fekkin hangover to wear off. Maybe what's needed is a punishment system where your punishment is a multiple of your income, not a reciprocal.

Now then, why did I reply?

Oh yes... I blame the parents.