Editorial Board: Celebrity justice not a good gauge of reality

By KANSAN

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Just being pulled over for a minor traffic violation can be embarrassing, scary and potentially expensive. Now add those infamous words,”You are being arrested for driving under the influence,” and those elements of fear and embarrassment reach all new heights. Although it seems that if you’re in the state of Kansas versus, say, California, and you’re just the Average Joe, the consequences of your driving excursion could get very serious.

Now you always hear some lawbreaker whine that if they were a celebrity or rich, they could have gotten away with their crime. Well, as exhausted as we all are of hearing about the off-the-wall antics of celebrities, the legal cases of a few certain ‘celebutantes’ in California has sparked our interest in the legal system in Kansas. We used those instances to examine some of Kansas laws.

Reasons given for the short duration of some recent celebrities stint in the pen was due to L.A.’s overcrowding in the jails and the early release of non-violent offenders. Their actual sentences are also where we see the lighter side of California law, and either some forgiving judges or some of that celebrity status working its magic.

Nicole Richie pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs in a deal; the plea helped her avoid a potential year in jail and an actual second DUI conviction. She was sentenced to four days on jail, and served 82 minutes, in which she never even made it to her cell. According to the City Prosecutor for Lawrence, Jerry Little, the state of Kansas prohibits you from reaching a deal so as to plea out of a DUI. He said that most states do not differentiate between drugs and alcohol, so whether you get pulled over while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, it is a DUI.

Lindsay Lohan also jumped on that second DUI train, when she was also arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance. It was her second driving arrest in four months. Ms. Lohan was fortunate enough to only receive seven misdemeanors in a (yes, the District Attorney’s office offered another) plea deal in which she received a one-day jail sentence and 10 days’ community service. She is again to enter into a rehabilitation program. If she had been in Kansas, however, according to the DUI statute, she would have received no fewer than 90 days (more than likely serving a mandatory five days), a $1,000 fine and alcohol evaluation.

In our humble state, some of us have to experience the full power of the law firsthand. We aren’t fortunate enough to receive plea deals and serve mere minutes compared of day-long sentences. The obvious and responsible decision is to not drink and drive. If you are so unfortunate to experience a run-in with law enforcement officials in Kansas, just know, you will serve every long, forsaken minute of that sentence. Citizens should be equal under the law, including how severe their punishments are for breaking the law. If recent events are any indication, this condition has yet to be met.

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