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Paris Hilton Arrested for Felony Cocaine Possession

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on August 30, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Lip balm can be a little bit dangerous; especially if you are reaching for it during a police stop and a small bag of what is alleged to be cocaine drops out of your handbag. Yes, the trials and tribulations of the world's blondest heiress, Ms. Paris Hilton, continue. Despite abjurations by her attorney not to rush to judgment, you know you are going to anyway. Here is the story as the facts are currently known.

According to the Washington Post, the celebutante and her boyfriend were pulled over by Las Vegas police who stated they smelled marijuana coming from boyfriend Cy Waits' Escalade. During the stop, Paris reportedly went for the all-important lip moisturizer, causing the alleged bag of drugs to drop into plain view of police.

This is where the canker gnaws for Hilton. An item in "plain view" of an officer will allow that officer to inspect it and any other objects the officer comes across, which can then be legally seized as well. Common examples of items in plain view are open beer cans, wine bottles and drug paraphernalia.

Paris was arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession and, after providing what has got to be the prettiest mug shot on record, released without bail. Waits was arrested in connection with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The attorney for Ms. Hilton, David Chesnoff, is urging the public not to make a "rush to judgment." According to the Los Angeles Times, Chesnoff released a statement saying, "This matter will be dealt with in the courts, not in the media, and I encourage people not to rush to judgment until all of the facts have been dealt with in a court of law."

Attorney for Waits, Richard Schonfeld, chimed in: "As the case proceeds, a lot of facts are going to come to light that will ultimately lead to exoneration."

That rush to judgment is going to be has hard to pass up as a pair of Louboutins on sale. Paris has been detained (but please remember, never convicted) on suspicion of drug possession in South Africa during the World Cup, and again while on vacation in Corsica. But, no judgment here.

Meanwhile, the world eagerly awaits the change of lifestyle promised by the heiress after serving her sentence in 2007 for reckless driving. No judgment.

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