CELEBRITY JUSTICE

Equal justice for all? What a crock! We all know that there are different standards of justice. There is the standard for those who can afford to employ the best lawyers that money can buy. There are those who, because their cause is taken up by left or right wing public interest organizations, get the kind of legal representation they could never afford themselves. And then there are the Hollywood celebrities who always seem to get special consideration from the criminal justice system.

There was Roman Polanski who got a mere slap on the wrist for the forcible rape of a 13-year-old girl. There was Paris Hilton who was released from jail by LA sheriff Lee ‘Pepe Lepew’ Baca after serving only 72 hours of a 45-day jail sentence. And now we have Cameron Douglas, the son of Academy Award winning actor Michael Douglas and the grandson of legendary actor Kirk Douglas.

Cameron has had a long history of alcohol abuse and addiction to heroin. He was cut off from the family fortune for his continuing use of heroin. Last July he got scooped up during a drug bust. But Cameron Douglas was not just some poor schmuck of a drug pusher hustling on a street corner hoping to sell enough dope to pay for his own heroin habit.

It turns out that Cameron was a mid-level dealer in a major drug distribution ring. He was living at the exclusive Gansevoort Hotel in New York’s meatpacking district where, during a raid on his room, the DEA found large amounts of cocaine and over $18,000 worth of crystal meth. Cameron eventually pled guilty to distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.

According to federal sentencing guidelines, Cameron faced a MANDATORY MINIMUM 10 YEARS in the federal prison system. Michael and Kirk Douglas, as well as his stepmom, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, wrote long letters to Judge Richard Berman pleading for leniency in Cameron’s behalf.

Did Cameron receive the mandatory prison sentence? Of course not! Judge Berman sentenced him to 60 months (5 years). And Berman granted him credit for the eight months he was locked up in jail while awaiting disposition of his case. Thus he received a total of 52 months, less than half of what the minimum sentence called for under the sentencing guidelines. And you can bet that Cameron will serve his time at a ‘Club Fed’ facility and not in a maximum security prison.

Judge Berman stated that he was not swayed by the pleadings of the Douglas family. If you believe that, I still have some great oceanfront property in Phoenix to sell you.

This is typical of the celebrity justice meted out to Hollywood luminaries. Joe Sixpack or any other ordinary slob would never have received such leniency. All Americans should be outraged at Judge Berman. Although he was addicted to heroin, Cameron Douglas was living in luxury while dealing large amounts of crystal meth and cocaine. 10 years was the very least he should have gotten.