Celebrity Justice, Kiefer Sutherland Edition

Kiefer Sutherland, who plays counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer on Fox Television's "24," had three alcohol-related offenses on his record, including one for which he has been on probation.

That was until last month, when Sutherland was arrested in southern California for Driving Under the Influence. Although the deal can be rejected by the sentencing judge, latimes.com reports " The Los Angeles city attorney's office, as part of a plea deal with Sutherland, recommended that he be sentenced to 48 days in jail. The sentence would reflect 30 days for the misdemeanor charge and 18 days for violating probation on a separate 2004 DUI case."

We'll wait in vain for conservatives to decry, apparently justifiably, this as another example of a lenient criminal justice system. But we shouldn't hesitate as main street liberals to see this as another example of the benefits of privilege. Yet again, a wealthy celebrity gets special treatment from the justice system because he/she can afford an excellent attorney, because the individual is popular, or perhaps because a campaign contribution from the offender would be helpful in the judge's next election. (Judges in California are elected, according to answers.com here.)

A progressive position on crime ought not to include a reflexively punitive response to any offender. However, at the least, it must maintain that the famous and/or wealthy must be treated with no special privileges unavailable to the middle class or the poor.