Hilton Double Standard -- Celeb vs. Non-Celeb?

June 9, 2007 — -- It might be hard to find anyone who was awake and breathing near a television set this past week who didn't know at least something about Paris Hilton's on-again, off-again, on-again incarceration, or have an opinion about what happened.

From the fans and protestors who stood outside the courtroom, to the candidates on the presidential campaign trail, people were debating the case and what it means.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, N.C., told reporters it pointed out the difference between class in America.

"I still believe, without regard to Paris Hilton, that we have two Americas," Edwards said.

Late night talk show host Jay Leno joked Hilton left jail with the one license plate she managed to finish, reading "DBL STNDRD."

The question over double standards for celebrities in trouble is still being hotly debated as Hilton's ordeal unfolds.

Sheriff Lee Baca, who let Hilton leave jail for house arrest, is being accused of playing nice with celebrities, while Judge Michael T. Sauer, who sent Hilton back, is said to be making an example of the heiress.

Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto said that when celebrities like Hilton face jail time, it magnifies their sense of privilege and people assume they are going to get better treatment than "mere mortals."

Elayne Rapping, a professor who studies pop culture, said Hilton has indeed managed to get away with a lot "because she can afford very expensive lawyers, and our society is increasingly permissive."

"If you are a celebrity, you can pretty much get away with anything and get off really easily," Rapping said. "It's a very very sick thing that most women of their age cannot do what they do and get away with it. ... There's such a double standard."

Gossip website TMZ reports Hilton, who is now confined to a mental health facility in Los Angeles, is "despondent" and "teetering on the brink" after her re-incarceration. Yet, even these sad details won't turn the public off to the starlet in the slammer.