Posted by Mesereau talks about Paris Hilton Case Saturday, 09 June 2007 (whisperDISPATCH) – Attorney Thomas Mesereau appeared on Anderson 360 June 8 2007 to give his take on the Paris Hilton case. Mesereau called the entire situation a disgrace and thinks the judge violated procedure. Mesereau, like a very many number of observers who don’t outright hate Hilton, said Hilton is being treated unfairly. “…This judge undermined our sheriff and actually treated Paris Hilton far worse than anyone else would have been treated in this situation,” Mesereau said. The lawyer says people who commit low-level misdemeanors like the one Paris Hilton admitted to only spend “a few days in jail”. Mesereau also speculated about the judge’s motives for giving Hilton a stiff sentence. He told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “He knows what he did. He did it for the cameras. He did it for celebrity land. He did it to make controversy. And I think it’s highly improper. …Nobody gets 45 days like this. Nobody is told, you must spend all 45 days” When ask whether or it was the judge’s prerogative to send a message with Hilton’s sentence, the attorney with an extensive civil rights background said he thinks equality should be the message any judge should send:
I think equality should be the major message in our justice system, that, no matter who you are, you’re treated equally with everybody else. This is a case of celebrity injustice. He did things with her because of who she is, and how much wealth she has, and because there were paparazzi and cameras around, that he wouldn’t have done with anybody else. And he’s created a difficult situation for our sheriff, who is a dedicated public servant, a very decent man. I know him very well. And he’s trying to treat everybody equally. He didn’t treat Paris Hilton any differently from anyone else. And the judge tried to make it look like he had.
Mesereau represented singer Michael Jackson during a 2005 alleged molestation trial. The singer was acquitted of all charges by a Santa Maria jury on June 13 2005. A report from CNN’s Randi Kaye tried to spin the fact that celebrities appeared to “get off” or “skate through” the legal system. One person cited in the report was Mesereau’s former client, Michael Jackson. Despite Kaye’s and the general media’s cries of ‘celebrity justice’ working in Jackson’s favor, most jurors from his trial said it was the lack of evidence and total unbelievability of the accusing witnesses which caused Jackson to be acquitted; not his celebrity status. Likewise, Hilton’s celebrity status is claimed to be the reason why she got out of jail early. Mesereau is by far not the only person to see a disparity in the way Hilton is currently being treated because of her celebrity. Earlier in the Anderson 360 broadcast, a taped interview with Harvey Levin was showed in which Levin called the judge, who sentenced Hilton to 45 days, a “jerk”. “This judge sentenced her for who she is and not what she did. And that’s an abuse of power,” Levin said. “You don’t give somebody 45 days when the average person gets two.” Hilton is currently in the Twin Towers facility in Los Angeles. Source: whisperdispatch.com