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Judge sends weeping Paris Hilton back to jail cell

In this courtroom drawing by Mona Shaefer, Paris Hilton faces Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer at the Metropolitan Courthouse in Los Angeles on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

It will be a week that Paris Hilton -- and a celebrity-obsessed nation -- won't soon forget.

What started as an attempt by the 26-year-old socialite to accept her punishment for violating probation in a reckless driving case ended on Friday when a disheveled and tearful Hilton was ordered back to jail to serve out the remainder of her 45-day sentence.

After Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer was apparently unmoved by the pleas of Hilton's three lawyers to keep their client under house arrest, the hotel heiress was led from the courtroom crying out for her mother and shouting: "It's not right!"

As Hilton sits in the downtown Twin Towers jail where she will undergo a medical and psychiatric examination, one question lingered: Was celebrity justice served?

There was no shortage of twists and turns throughout the week after Hilton made a surprise visit last Sunday to the MTV Movie Awards, where she told a throng of media that she was scared but ready to face her sentence.

Hours after the event, Hilton checked herself into jail and was expected to serve only 23 days because of a state law that requires shorter sentences for good behavior.

The ensuing drama erupted on Thursday when sheriff's officials released Hilton because of a medical condition and sent her home under house arrest.

Friday's hearing was requested by the city attorney's office, which had prosecuted Hilton and wanted Sheriff Lee Baca held in contempt for deciding to reassign Hilton to home detention despite Sauer's express order that she must serve her time in jail.

Sauer gave no explanation of his ruling to send Hilton back to jail, but his comments throughout the hearing indicated he was affronted by Baca's decision to set aside his instructions and release the celebutante to her Hollywood Hills home.

"I at no time condoned the actions of the sheriff and at no time told him I approved the actions," he said. "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home on Kings Road."

Hilton's lawyers said the reason for her release was an unspecified medical condition. The judge suggested that could be taken care of at jail medical facilities.

Following the hearing, Baca said he decided to put Hilton under house arrest because he was concerned about a serious medical condition he could not disclose, though his further comments suggested psychological problems.

He said he had learned from one of her doctors that she was not taking a certain medication while she was in custody previously.
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