Celebrity Court

As part as her community service sentence, Lindsay Lohan will be spending some time at the morgue. The idea being that if you see a dead body you will be less likely to engage in conduct that will cause you to end up there, like driving drunk or under the influence of other substances likely to cause you to drive in a less than stellar manner.

I suppose that spending a few days looking at dead bodies will go farther in convincing someone who has been convicted of driving under the influence about the consequences of their behavior than say, picking up garbage on the side of the road.

I don’t know what her tasks will be at the morgue, but I can’t imagine any job there would be pleasant. Interesting, sure, but unpleasant. There is some evidence that when people are faced with their own mortality or someone shown the consequences of their actions, it triggers something in their mind. Sort of the “ghosts of Christmas past” or “You were never born, George Bailey,” kind of thing.

I am hesitant to believe that Lindsay may have turned the corner on this addiction thing. Although she did have an alcohol slip-up recently, it appears that she is really working hard to change her lifestyle to one less centered on alcohol and partying and more centered on, you know, living.

What do you think? Is she on the right path for good or is it just a “wait and see” before she gets back into trouble?  I guess only time will tell.

While in New Hampshire last week for the Presidential primary, a senior advisor to candidate Hillary Clinton was arrested for drunk driving; one day before the primary was to take place.

Sidney Blumenthal was pulled over by police the night before the Clinton victory for speeding, allegedly going 70 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone. When police suspected that that her was drunk due to an odor of alcohol, they administered a field sobriety test, which he failed.

He was charged with aggravated DUI due to the excessive speed with which he was driving. No word on if he took a Breathalyzer test or had blood taken to determine his blood alcohol content (BAC). There are times when people fail a field sobriety test, but are not legally intoxicated in terms of the BAC. Given his hard work on the campaign, he may have been simply exhausted and unable to perform the routine maneuvers in the field sobriety test.

If he had a few drinks that night, it may have been to make himself feel better, because according to polls at the point, Clinton was about to lose her second contest. Of course the polls were wrong and she went on to a victory over Barack Obama.  Maybe this will be a lessen to others not to hit the booze in despair until you determine if you really have something to be in despair about.

Blumenthal is expected to be arraigned later this month. No word on whether he will continue with the Clinton campaign or will be replaced by another, less arrest-prone advisor.

Source and Photo Source: TMZ

Despite the fact that Michelle Rodriguez was ordered to serve 180 days in jail for violated her DUI probation, she is already out of jail after only 18 days.  The Sheriff reportedly stated that due to prison overcrowding, it is normal procedure to let a female inmate out after they have served 10% of their time.  This despite the judge’s insistence that she serve the whole 180 days.  How very Paris Hilton esque the whole thing sounds.

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PHOTO FROM TMZ‘Tis the season for celebrations with friends and family.  ‘Tis also the season for drinking too much at those celebrations and getting arrested for drunk driving.  Here are the latest celebs to be arrested for driving under the influence:

Mischa Barton: arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and suspected possession of marijuana.  She was pulled over after the police witnessed her straddling two lanes of traffic and failed to use an indicator.  What is she even doing with herself these days?  Seems like she pretty much disappeared from the face of the earth after leaving The OC to do other projects.  Maybe her other project was partying?  Also gives me another opportunity to remind you: if you drunk or in possession of drugs, please do your very best to obey the traffic rules.

Danielle Fishel (best known as Topanga on Boy Meets World): arrested on a drunk driving warrant.  Although she had disappeared for awhile after the show ended, she had recently gotten work on the Tyra Banks Show, as well as with Nutrisystem.  Doesn’t she know all the calories that are in alcohol?

Rebecca De Mornay: two misdemeanor counts of DUI stemming from an October arrest. What has she done lately?  Maybe this is a trend: former actresses who are no longer getting work, hit the bottle to feel better, get arrested for drunk driving and then producers say, “Oh, I forgot about her!  I shall hire her!”  Hmm.  Maybe.  Or it could just be that celebs are like regular people in that they drink too much and think that they are okay to drive. 

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According to Perez Hilton, Jason Wahler, best known for being Lauren Conrad’s ex-boyfriend on the MTV “reality” show The Hills, is in a Seattle jail. Wahler is serving time after his April arrest for assault, criminal trespass and underage drinking. No word on how long he will be in the Seattle jail.

According to Wahler’s representatives, “Jason is taking full responsibility for his previous actions . . . He would like to be an example to young people to make them realize that there are consequences for bad behavior. He is making amends and looks forward to continuing success in his career.”

Fans of The Hills know that Wahler went to a rehabilitation center, reportedly for both drugs and alcohol. He since then has been attending AA meetings and recently became engaged, all well-documented on The Hills.

While the majority of the show is reportedly scripted and not really “real,” clearly Wahler’s alcohol and drug problems were not faked for the show. I am sure that he is finding out that the consequences of his actions and learning that just being on a television show cannot prevent you from having to deal with the consequences. At least from the statement from his rep, it does seem like he is trying to move on and become a better person.

I know that The Hills filming is still going on right now and I wonder if this will be addressed on the show. Maybe Lauren will mention talking to Jason on the phone from jail or maybe they will be at AREA talking about Jason being in jail. Ooh! Maybe Lauren will visit Jason at the jail! Although I don’t think that Lauren leaves California except when she is going to New York City.

Is the stress of playing a character stranded on a desert island too much that the actors on Lost drink more than the average person? Are taxi cabs less plentiful on the Hawaiian island of Oahu than in California, so much so that more people there drink and drive? Are the DUI law more strict in Hawaii? Or are the Hawaiian police unfairly targeting Lost cast members?

Whatever the reason, yet another Lost cast member has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. This time it was Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin, husband to Sun, and soon-to-be daddy to her baby (well not so soon, considering how slowly time moves on the show; it will probably be another three seasons before the birth).

According to People magazine, Kim was arrested around 3:00 a.m. on the island of Oahu where the show is filmed. His stay at a Honolulu police station was short-lived however, as he was reportedly released at 5:05 a.m. after posting bail. The legal limit under the DUI law in Hawaii is .08 blood alcohol content. No report on whether Kim took a Breathalyzer test or if he failed field sobriety tests.

Previous Lost cast members arrested for DUI were Cythnia Watros and Michelle Rodriguez, whose characters both died on the show relatively shortly after their arrests. I don’t think that Kim has much to worry about in that department, because his character is such a pivotal member of the cast. Of course, with Lost, anything can happen.

Lost, Daniel Dae Kim, DUI

Former Lost star Michelle Rodriguez was sentenced to 120 days in jail for violating her probation from previous DUI and hit-and-run convictions.

As I reported previously, she was under fire from the judge in her case for repeatedly refusing to complete the terms of her probation, such as court-ordered community service.

According to TMZ, Rodriguez reportedly signed a document which stated that she had completed community service by picking up trash on side of the road in California.  In fact, she was allegedly in New York at the time.

If there is one thing that you can learn from the bad acts of celebrities it is this: it is always worse to lie to the court about something than it is to admit that you did something wrong.

She must begin serving her sentence by December 24th of this year.

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Kiefer Sutherland pled no contest yesterday driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08. In exchange for the plea, the prosecution dropped an additional charge of driving under the influence.  He was arrested in late September.

Sutherland will be sentenced on December 21st, where he is expected to receive 48 days in jail. He is receiving 30 days for the new DUI and an additional 18 days because the new arrest violated his previous probation.

According to reports, Sutherland’s biggest concern was that he did not want his jail time to interfere with the shooting schedule of his television show 24. With the plea, he is expected to be permitted to serve part of his sentence during the show’s winter hiatus and the remaining days will need to be be served prior to next summer.

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Despite being arrested last week for driving under the influence of alcohol, former Olympian and TNA wresting champion Kurt Angle denies that he did anything illegal.

According to TMZ, Angle’s attorney stated that Angle is maintaining his innocence in the incident and stated that Angle showed no signs of intoxication and the police do not have first hand knowledge that he drove the vehicle. The attorney asserted that arrest occurred because of Angle’s celebrity status.

According to 24wrestling, the police stated that another motorist reported that they saw Angle’s vehicle pull out of a bar and nearly hit their vehicle. Angle’s car then reportedly crossed the center line and almost hit a sign.

The motorist took down the plate information of the car and gave it to police, who then went to Angle’s home. Angle admitted that he had just left the local bar. Angle was reportedly then given a field sobriety test, which he failed.

It appears that no Breathalyzer test nor blood sample were completed. Angle will have to report to court on the charge, although no date has yet been set.

Angle first rose to fame in 1996 when he won the Olympic gold medal in wrestling. He competed despite having broken two of his cervical vertebrae prior to that. He has wrestled with TNA (Total Non-stop Action) since September of 2006.

This is not the first bad press Angle has received. Earlier this year he was involved in steroid allegations, which he denied. He stated that he had not received any illegal performance-enhancing drugs and all medications that he used because of his injuries were under a doctor’s care.

Kurt Angle, DUI

The Los Angeles County prosecutor’s office filed a motion to terminate Michelle Rodriguez’s probation. Rodriguez, who formerly starred in the television show Lost and appeared in such movies as Girlfight and The Fast and the Furious, is on probation following convictions of several traffic offenses, including hit and run, DUI and driving on a suspended license.

The prosecutor alleged that Rodriguez violated her probation by “by not performing community service and not following her alcohol monitoring program.” Rodriguez could face up to 537 days in jail if she is found to have violated her probation.

The prosecutor is apparently very angry at the fact that Rodriguez has continuously violated her probation, seemingly without a care about what the possible punishment could be. The judge has previously found Rodriguez to be in violation of her probation, but after Rodriguez admitted to the court that she was in violation, she was not sent to jail.

Her arrest in California is not her only run-in with the law and not her only alcohol-related offense. Rodriguez was also arrested for DUI when she was in Hawaii filming Lost. Her co-star, Cynthia Watros, was also arrested for DUI the same night. Both characters were written off the show shortly after that, leading viewers to speculate that the writers were sending some kind of anti-drunk driving message.

In this latest court appearance the judge assigned Rodriguez to complete 16 hours of community service by picking up garbage on the side of the road. Rodriguez will next appear in court on October 12 to face the new allegations.

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Vivica A. Fox pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of DUI yesterday.

She was not in court, so her attorney, Richard Hutton, entered the plea on her behalf.

Vivica was arrested in March on suspicion of driving under the influence after she was pulled over for speeding. She was allegedly going 80 mph in a 65 mph zone, and could not stay in her lane.

A trial date was set for Oct. 29.

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According to TMZ, actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested on suspicion of DUI in West Hollywood Monday night after attending a party thrown by Fox at Area nightclub. Sutherland reporedly had a blood alcohol level of .22.

According to CelebTV, Sutherland has four prior DUI arrests, dating back to 1988. His most recent arrest was in 2004. If convicted, Sutherland would have to serve a mandatory five days in jail. However, TMZ is also reporting that Sutherand’s 2004 conviction resulted in a sentence of five years probation. That means that this latest run-in could result in a probation violation, which could result in serious jail time.

Sutherland was pulled over after making an illegal U-turn, which proves my long-standing motto that if you are intoxicated or if you are carrying anything in your car that is illegal, obey the traffic laws.

Sutherland was released on bond and is headed to court on October 16.

DUI, Kiefer Sutherland, 24

According to TMZ soap opera star Kirsten Storms was arrested for driving under the influence over the weekend. Storms is known for her role as Belle Black on Days of Our Lives and Maxie Jones on General Hospital. She also provides her voice for a role on Disney’s Kim Possible. I am sure Disney is not too happy with her right now.

Storms, 23, was pulled over in Los Angeles after a lit cigarette was thrown out of her car. The police then administered field sobriety tests after smelling alcohol. She failed and was arrested for DUI.

Kirsten Storms, DUI, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Kim Possible

According to TMZ , former Prison Break actor Lane Garrison has been transferred to Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles.

He had been completing diagnosis testing for the purposes of sentencing at the California Institute for Men. The testing, which including a psychological evaluation, will help the judge determine whether Garrison is a good candidate for probation or if he should receive prison time. He will be sentenced on October 31st.

Garrison pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in May following an accident in which he was driving drunk. One teenager was killed and two others were injured in the incident.

Lane Garrison, Prison Break, sentencing, DUI

In what has to be one of the shortest jail stints on record, Nicole Richie disposed of her jail obligations yesterday by spending just 82 minutes in jail. According to TMZ, Nicole was in a jail cell for only 35 minutes! She was scheduled to serve 96 hours after pleading guilty to driving under the influence as a result of her arrest following her trip the wrong way down the highway.

Nicole Richie, DUI