Paris Hilton plucked from home, sent back to jail cell in hysterics

Paris Hilton weeps in a police car as she is taken from her Hollywood Hills home to Los Angeles County Superior Court.

LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton cried for her mother after an angry judge yesterday had her removed from a gilded cage - and sent back to a Los Angeles county jail to serve the max.

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" the blond screamed as a female deputy shoved her out of court. "It's not right!"

But Kathy Hilton could only mouth, "I love you," as her daughter was cuffed and driven back to the cell that will be her home for up to 45 days.

"Why can't they do something?" one of Paris Hilton's cousins yelled.

"They don't want to do anything," Kathy Hilton said bitterly. "They've made up their minds."

Did they ever. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer insisted that Ms. Hilton serve her full sentence, not the reduced 23-day sentence that the sheriff's office gave her.

Ms. Hilton's hysterics capped a day of drama that had paparazzi pummeling each other for a shot of a weeping Hilton and O.J. Simpsonlike overhead coverage of the heiress being driven by police cruiser from her Hollywood Hills home.

The Simple Life star later was taken to the medical ward of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility for the weekend where doctors will evaluate her before moving her to a regular jail.

"We have her in the correctional treatment center - that is a special wing. I am not going to say exactly what her mental problem is," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told a news conference.

Sheriff Baca had cited a "medical" condition when he slapped an electronic ankle bracelet on Ms. Hilton and sent her home Thursday - after just three days in the slammer - to serve out the rest of her sentence in a $2.1 million mansion with silk sheets, servants, and a pool.

Criminal defense lawyers said Thursday that it was an unusual, even extraordinary, decision.

"There are people in custody who have cancer and AIDS and severe heart problems, and they remain in custody," criminal defense lawyer Darren Kavinoky said.

Yesterday, Sheriff Baca was battered by more accusations that he had given Ms. Hilton special treatment after it was revealed that her grandfather had given him a $1,000 campaign contribution.

Sheriff Baca said Ms. Hilton had not been taking prescribed medications for a psychological problem but declined to give details. He said the only special treatment Ms. Hilton got was a stiffer sentence "for a low-level crime."

Clearly outraged that Sheriff Baca had ignored his expressed orders to keep Ms. Hilton in jail, Judge Sauer ordered the heiress to appear in his court at 9 a.m. But Ms. Hilton, who was apparently under the mistaken impression she would be able to testify by phone, didn't show up.

So Judge Sauer dispatched deputies to fetch her.

Dressed in a gray sweatshirt over slacks, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wearing no makeup, the 26-year-old bawled throughout the hearing. She dabbed her eyes, wiped her nose on her sleeve, and her body shook constantly. Several times she turned to look at her parents, who were seated behind her in the courtroom.

Ms. Hilton's lawyer practically begged Judge Sauer to hold a hearing in his chambers to hear testimony about Ms. Hilton's medical condition, which they did not divulge. Judge Sauer said no.

"The sheriff has determined that because of her medical situation, [jail] is a dangerous place for her," Hilton lawyer Steve Levine insisted.

Judge Sauer was unmoved. He said he had been told several times by an undersheriff that papers attesting to Ms. Hilton's supposed condition would be delivered and none ever came.