Are celebrities treated more leniently...

[Denny Crane!]

In court cases. I've looked at the recent case of a footballer and Amy Winehouse having been declared not guilty. So I'm curious as to whether or not celebrities are treated more leniently than the ordinary public in court when defending themselves, through jury bias or court bias.

I'm biased and tend to say they probably are but with little evidence to back that up. Can anyone cast any aspersions either way?

[Hub'ite]

Yes they are and its disgusting.

[removeduser_052420]

Yup. I mean really, you'd expect something like this to only happen in the third world, but it happens over here in the West too, and it's pretty disgusting.

[Desperado †]

Yup. I mean really, you'd expect something like this to only happen in the third world, but it happens over here in the West too, and it's pretty disgusting.

Not really. It's pretty commonly acknowledged that wealth and public status has an effect on somebody's treatment by the justice system, wherever you are.

[Bwaho]

yes I know this is from the O'reilly show, but some of the footage is good fodder for this thread.

[Denny Crane!]

Do we have any evidence of this or are you both doing the same thing I did and letting bias influence our ideas?

[Trey]

Do we have any evidence of this or are you both doing the same thing I did and letting bias influence our ideas?

Sure we could say we're biased, and I'm not sure if there are any numbers to back up our feelings, yet I would say from what I've seen that celebrities are both less likely to be convicted, but when they are it is with more lenient sentences. And I don't think it's just an availability heuristic.

[nopasties]

I'm sure celebrities can afford better lawyers. Another thing is political influence on the judge.

Some arguments can be made for cases where the celebrity does some positive community service.

Clearly though celebrities get the best treatment because they are a celebrity.

[DekuTrash]

Of course!

Paris Hilton,Lindsay Lohan and One of those Kardashians all had commited offences that would land a regular person in jail but the longest any of them spent in jail was Paris at a month.

Look em' up on the Wiki for info.

Of course many more have and simply get off easy

$$$$$$$$

[Barry Goldwater]

Yes, I am afraid they are. It pisses me off.

[Aziel]

In court cases. I've looked at the recent case of a footballer and Amy Winehouse having been declared not guilty. So I'm curious as to whether or not celebrities are treated more leniently than the ordinary public in court when defending themselves, through jury bias or court bias.

I'm biased and tend to say they probably are but with little evidence to back that up. Can anyone cast any aspersions either way?

Why? What happened that somehow a doubt that they are not treated differently sparked in your mind?

[Denny Crane!]

Why? What happened that somehow a doubt that they are not treated differently sparked in your mind?

A general theme from the media (not implied but from what I've observed given what the media has reported) and I created this thread not so much to see what other people thought but to see if anyone could offer empirical evidence one way or the other.

[Hub'ite]

OJ.

[nopasties]

OJ.

Michael Jackson

[Hambone]

these trials with celebritites are very public. maybe it just seems like it is only celebrities who get let off because those are the only cases most of us hear about.

And on OJ and MJ, a jury of 11 people who knew everything that mattered, and were not affected by anything that did not, found them both not guilty. so who are you to claim that they are guilty.

[IronBrig4]

And on OJ and MJ, a jury of 11 people who knew everything that mattered, and were not affected by anything that did not, found them both not guilty. so who are you to claim that they are guilty.

I won't comment about Michael Jackson because I don't know too much about that case. But OJ was let off mostly because of technicalities and the refusal of the court to admit critical evidence. Meanwhile, most black communities in Southern California put him way up on a pedestal with Nelson freakin' Mandela.

[Thorn777]

Sure, judges consider "the public value and their acheevements", thats why allot of criminal CEO's got away easy as well.

Im not sure if this is a good thing: In Germany a burgualer can get 10 years, and a manager who skeemed thousands of people get 100.000 Euro fines.

[Denny Crane!]

in the UK a burglar can get away with no prison when someone committing fraud can get more time than a murderer. Bernard Madhoff got 150 years or something? in the USA whereas in the UK premeditated viscious murder gets 12 years. I've seen cases of someone only serving 2 years for a stabbing to the heart.

As far as I can tell society values money over life and property not the other way around Thorn. Maybe it is different in Germany.

[Thorn777]

in the UK a burglar can get away with no prison when someone committing fraud can get more time than a murderer. Bernard Madhoff got 150 years or something? in the USA whereas in the UK premeditated viscious murder gets 12 years. I've seen cases of someone only serving 2 years for a stabbing to the heart.

As far as I can tell society values money over life and property not the other way around Thorn. Maybe it is different in Germany.

Yeah, IRS type of fraudes are punished very hard here as well, but Ive seen a multitude of cases where big coorperations and their leading personal got away very easy. However the public notion and the tide turned since the financial crisis and became an public outrage.

Also there is always exceptions on the rule, but usualy when a criminal is found guilty several times and then commits a burgualary he/she can get jail-time big-time, since the home is extra-protected in German crimminal-law.

[Denny Crane!]

Yeah, IRS type of fraudes are punished very hard here as well, but Ive seen a multitude of cases where big coorperations and their leading personal got away very easy. However the public notion and the tide turned since the financial crisis and became an public outrage.

Also there is always exceptions on the rule, but usualy when a criminal is found guilty several times and then commits a burgualary he/she can get jail-time big-time, since the home is extra-protected in German crimminal-law.

Well no over here burglaries often get no jail time or it is very minimal. Corporate fraud has always resulted in sentences that can exceed many many many times that of burglars.

Sorry you live in fubared system but that is wierd and nothing like anyone elses. I'll check that out, bloody wierd german legislators not like anyone else in the world I'd say. But no accounting for politicians decisions, just look at Gordon Brown.