This Week's "Ripped from the Headlines"

Well, I know I've gone there before, but since she's an absolute gold mine, let's get our pickaxes, pans for panhandling and indulge in some more nuggets.

Here's the latest nugget.

Felony complaint for Winona'ing (stolen from LLK) a necklace from a high end LA store, allegedly.

Lo lo remains on her own recognizance, which means out on her own to do coke, but apparently it has been with a "stern" warning to not violate probation or the terms of her probation while out on OR.

So, Lo Lo is now looking like a lot of my clients- multiple files, new stuff while they're on probation, etc.

The only stark difference (and the one that pisses me off): I CAN'T THINK OF ANY CLIENT OF MINE, SIMILARLY SITUATED IN TERMS OF THEIR CRIMINAL CONDUCT, THAT WOULD BE ALLOWED TO STAY OUT ON THEIR OWN RECOGNIZANCE.

Allow me to hoist myself on to my soapbox. It's more or less a given the the more money you have, the more likely you are to be able to stay out of custody. And the more likely you are to stay out of custody, the more likely you are to be able to fight, and maybe even beat some or all of the charges. The logical deduction, then, is that money affords a criminal defendant to better off than someone who is indigent. Which, I can tell you, by way of anecdote, is more or less true. I've seen people in custody plead guilty just to get out of custody, even though they had extremely defensible cases. Sadly, a Lindsay Lohan would be in a much better position to bail out, and then fight the case.

And I guess that's what really bugs me at the core of this new case. She will probably be able to kick it down the road enough, make amends (with $$$) to the store, and eventually get the charge reduced to a misdemeanor, and get a slap on the wrist. And to me, it's almost all because she has money.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't be held accountable for their actions either, especially when they've admitted guilt. I guess I feel like if we really want to be convinced that our system is fair and balanced, all criminal defendants need to be treated equal, regardless of wealth.

My $.02.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!