An otherwise unassuming career jurist, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer found himself thrust into semi-celebrity last week when he sentenced Paris Hilton to jail.
Hilton and her spokespeople have since decried the 45-day sentence as unfairly harsh and out of step with her crime of repeatedly driving with a suspended license. Bloggers and celebrity watchers across the country have weighed in, alternately criticizing the ruling and applauding Sauer for standing up to Hilton's reckless ways and consequence-free lifestyle.
"I don't care to be the DUI judge to the stars," Sauer told The Times on Monday. "I'm amazed about the amount of talk about this case. I'm amazed at the amount of publicity."
Those who know and work with the 69-year-old Sauer said he's one of the last people they can imagine grandstanding for the cameras, or altering his judgment for a famous defendant.
"He's not the type of individual to make an example of anyone," said Mark Rafferty, an attorney who said he's argued hundreds of cases in front of Sauer, most of them DUIs. "He's not the kind of guy who likes the limelight. He's a hardworking judge and has been for a long time. He's not worried about what other people think, good or bad."
Another attorney who has appeared multiple times before Sauer speculated that the judge may have been annoyed by Hilton's repeated violation of her license suspension and her late arrival for her hearing.
"I think in this case she must have gotten under his skin ... basically she thumbed her nose at him," said Mark J. Werksman. "There's a limit to a judge's patience.
During the two-hour hearing Friday, Sauer seemed well aware of the defendant's celebrity, at one point joking with the prosecuting attorney that "I don't want to deny you your 15 minutes of fame."
Making references at points to Shakespeare's "Henry V" and the Watergate scandal, Sauer repeatedly questioned Hilton on her understanding of the restrictions of her license suspension -- stemming from a September 2006 alcohol-related reckless driving charge. Hilton claimed she mistakenly thought she was still allowed to drive as long as it was for work. Sauer, referencing Watergate, said he sought to understand what Hilton knew and when she knew it.
His ruling, forgoing lighter sentences that wouldn't have involved jail time, indicates that Sauer didn't fully believe Hilton's claims. Since the original incident last fall, Hilton has been pulled over three more times, and each time warned or cited by the officer for driving with a suspended license.
