We understand the instinct to scream that the 82 minutes spent in jail by Nicole Richie and the brief one-day sentence handed down to Lindsay Lohan last week were just more cases of spoiled princesses getting away with murder, but don't overreact. Is it ridiculous that anyone go to jail for less time than it takes to watch Balls of Fury? Of course. It raises the question - Why bother? But blame the system, don't blame Nicole Richie. And the same thing holds true for Lindsay Lohan's light prison sentence. Both cases should serve more as examples of how screwed up the California system is than how much the beautiful people of Hollywood get special treatment.
Last Thursday, Lindsay Lohan reached a plea deal for her misdemeanor DUI and drug charges that sentenced the Mean Girls star to only one day in jail, ten days of community service, and a drug-treatment program. That same day, Nicole Richie went to the Century Regional Detention Center to serve her four days in jail and was let out only 82 minutes later. People freaked out. The New York Post claimed via headline that there was "Hard-ly Time for Bimbos" and blogs lit up.
Hold on. It's the guidelines of California that are to blame for the short time given and done by Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie, not the starlets or their reputations. Jane Robison, the spokeswoman for the LA district attorney's office told the press, as quoted by MTV, that both Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan were sentenced to the required minimum for someone charged with these crimes. The way the sentence for Lindsay Lohan broke down was that she was sentenced to the minimum of four days, but given credit for one day already served. She was then given the option to serve 10 days of community service to replace two more days, leaving only one day behind bars. It's standard procedure.
Robison explained to MTV, "That's standard for anybody convicted of these crimes. We filed seven misdemeanor counts, and she pleaded to five of those, and we dismissed two -- again, that's normal. We filed two separate DUIs for each incident, and she pleaded to two, and two were dismissed as part of her plea deal. "
We know what you're saying - what about the cocaine? As widely reported, a small amount of cocaine was found on the possession of Lindsay Lohan, but it was too small (below the .05 gram limit) for a felony filing. Both DUIs were misdemeanors as well. Robison explained, "This is all part of the California penal code. We don't care if someone's a celebrity or Jane Doe on the street - if what [Lohan] had done constituted a felony, we would have charged her with a felony."
Nicole Richie was let out for another standard problem - overcrowding. Typically, anyone sentenced to 30 days or less for nonviolent offenses usually gets out in under 12 hours. There's just no room and if they're not violent, no real urgency in keeping them. Steve Whitmore, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said, "Primarily, what happens is, if it's a nonviolent offense, and if it's a misdemeanor, and the sentence is under 30 days, because of the overcrowding in the jails, the sheriff has the discretion to release them early. Let's deal with the 90 hours [Richie received]. You do 10 percent of that, which is nine hours. And because of the fact that you have overcrowding, you usually process them in and process them out. That isn't even taking into account the good time/ work time [sentence-reduction credits earned by an inmate for good behavior and work performed], which we must follow from the state, because that's also taken off of the sentence. That's how that works. In anybody's case, that is the policy."
Nicole Richie never even made it to a jail cell. As Whitmore told MTV, "You're booked, you get a booking photo, you're arrested, and then you're released. It has nothing to do with the individual - that's the process."
In case you're getting ahead - it's unlikely that Lindsay Lohan will do a full day behind bars. She'll probably only do a few hours. Steve Meister, a former LA County deputy district attorney, told MTV that he's had clients with 10-day sentences be released by noon of their first day. Meister told MTV, "If you're a citizen, it doesn't sound right. But if it happens to you, you're going to want it to happen this way. Even though [Lohan and Richie] are celebrities, they're not getting any more or any less time than they should. Lohan, for all the stuff she did, it sure seems like she'd be doing a little more jail time. But they got her community service, and it's clear that she's a serious addict. There were no injuries as a result of her crime, it's a misdemeanor - her sentence is within the limits of reason in L.A. County. Some people might get a little more time, but no one would get less. I don't think she got this sentence or was charged with misdemeanors because of who she is. The charges fit the facts, and the punishment fits the crime."
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