YES.

yes f*cking yes!!!!!!!!!!

they are humans too..if a normal person did the same thing..oh it will be jail no question..esp down here.

omg she looks so ugly in this picture. that should be her punishment

For a first time offense this is common. Get off your soapboxes. And for the purposes of this survey, looks like "whocares" = "yes." I knot this isn't exactly Pew, but come on...

Why couldn't she be famous in a different country america doesn't pay attention to. She is annoying. She would probably cry every day in jail and starve to death.

YES!!!! it what i said....i hate that celbs get away with everything its bullsh*t.....

yup i'm just me

like she was really going to go to jail! she's an idiot & i bet within those three years of unsupervised probation she gets into some trouble!

Someone please tell me that she is at least getting her licence taken away.

it's sad because it sets a poor example to younger generations. i work with MADD as a youth director, and knowing that the kids i see in high schools look up to people like this just makes me shake my head.

This is standard procedure for a first time offense. Unfortunately my friend got a similar charge and she got probation and now this charge is off her record.
It seems to me that most people want harsher sentences for celebrities, maybe to set an example. I'm not sure but it's ridiculous to think that this case is special treatment when your average citizens are getting the same sentence.

I've known people who have gotten a dui etc and have not gone to jail because of a first offense. i don't believe she has had any previous arrests so this seems pretty standard.

Paris had a prior dui, so did nicole and lindsay. now if it happened AGAIN then absolutely.

Sad to say...... and I am rather embarassed about it..... but as a standard, run of the mill, California resident...... I got the same exact sentance. Why do people think that these people are getting preferential treatment? They used to get special treatment when they werent getting popped for DUI's (cause you know they were driving drunk befre). Now celebrties are getting them right and left, becasue they are now being trreated equally finally. Poeple dont seem to do their research before they assume that these people are being treated differently.

BURN THE B*TCH!

That doesn't sound too different than what Nicole got for a first offense, when she had heroin. It's the failure to comply with probation, or the subsequent offenses that will really bite them.

But I do think it's pretty lenient for anyone given the number of violations and how messed up she was while driving. She could have killed someone.

It is the standard sentence in California for a first time DUI. I lived there for years and know quite a few people who got DUI's and no one got jail time for their first offense. After working the legal work in a few different states now, I have learned that it is common practice in many states to generally not give jail time for a first time DUI offense, unless someone was injured or killed.

Personally i don't agree that this is a harsh enough punishment, but Mischa is not receiving any preferential treatment.

Of all starlets running around Hollywood I like her best, so better she gets let off than a Lindsay Lohan^^

crystalvillage06 wrote: It seems to me that most people want harsher sentences for celebrities, maybe to set an example. I'm not sure but it's ridiculous to think that this case is special treatment when your average citizens are getting the same sentence.

****************

I think most people don't realize how light the sentence is for a first offense, rather than wanting it to be harsher for celebs. In California you can kill a person and be out in less than 7 years, for a manslaughter conviction with no priors and good behavior.

i'm no fan of hers (her acting kills puppies), but i didn't expect her to get jail time for her DUI. i DO however think it's surprising that the marijuana charges were dropped, especially considering how many times we've all seen her lighting one up while driving, esp when she never had a valid license in the 1st place. that would NOT happen to anyone but a celeb!

It seems light to me but I didn't realize that the DUI penalties are so light in California. I'm in Arizona and the penalties are very harsh here. Mandatory jail time for 1st offense, plus fines, plus suspended license...it makes the $40 for a cab ride home sound like a brilliant idea.

I have lost friends and family members to drunk driving. This is not a joke, and it shouldn't be treated so flippantly. The punishment needs to reflect the seriousness of this crime.

This is standard. I know people who were charged with DUIs - some underage - that get probation only (with fines) because they were first time offenders. It is very common.

bluehue, she'd have to have a valid license in order to have it taken away

@tsp: What really gets under my skin is those who get the charges dropped completely because they know Officer So-and-so. One of my boyfriend's friends got out of a DUI because his brother in law is a state trooper. It is not fair, and it is dangerous to let these people back out there.

This is very common but I still think it sucks. There is no continuity. I know some first timers that get the book thrown at them and others that get a slap on the wrist.

It honestly depends on a) status b) the judge c) the relationship b/t lawyer/DA/and judge. A lot of times if your attorney is familiar with one of the 2 a lighter sentence can be negotiated before you even get to court. d)chance, sometimes chance jus makes things happen

Situations like these are no joke esp when chick did not even have a license, everybody knows to lay while riding dirty!

*lay low while ridin dirty*

Celebrities need to get a flipping clue. I say they should have thrown the book at her......

Not surprising. And she definitely didn't get special treatment. That seems pretty standard to me. My brother was just charged with marijuana possession and he got less than 50 hours community service. Granted this is Canada and he wasn't driving. There should be harsher punishment for the DUI charge but who cares about the marijuana possession. It shouldn't be illegal to be carrying a personal amount of marijuana.

Well if you look at the statistics, plea bargaining out is pretty common. 97% of people in situations similar to Mischa's plea bargain out anyways it just so happens that she is a celeb doing it. Why be harsh on her when "average people" plea bargain out of crap way more threatening. Puh-lease. I said no.

plea bargaining is definitely common. my (very classy) step sister was busted with 8 POUNDS of pot in her apartment and she got no jail time and only 2 months of probation. i think that mischa's punishment is totally appropriate.

Ginger, that is a good point. I guess if you've never known anyone in a situation like that you wouldn't be familiar with the sentencing.

It's extremely typical.

But that doesn't mean it's fair.

I've had friends who didn't see any jail after 2 DUI's, and it scares me that they're on the road.

NO! This is a pretty standard procedure for California and some other states.

States have different standards. Look at Arizona for example.

And I'm glad to see I'm not the only PEW junkie on here snowbunny

Sorry for your loss *tsp* and you're right, this is not a joke. And there should be less plea-bargining for all offenders in cases like these.

Now, first time offender or not she had a DUI and drug charges against her, and probably speeding on top of that. California law on first time offenders obviously needs to be changed. Why wait for them to do the crime a second time which may better their chances of killing someone, because now they believe that they’ve gotten off easy...and they have...so therefore they’ll do it continuously believing they are above the law.

Any time served less than one year is considered as jail time in a smaller facility. And anything over that amount is considered as prison time, so you would go to an actual prison facility of course. I think these so-called celebrities all need some sort of jail time to smack a little reality back into them.

I don't believe that any innocent civilian out there should die because these too layed back laws in the bigger states, or sloppy as* judges that love their singing or television shows, allow these so-called celebrities to get off even easier.

If she was down in North Carolina and pulled that stunt and killed somebody she would not get off easy. I don’t care what she does for a living. If you murder someone in NC it’s automatic death penalty. Any offense under that such as manslaughter, involuntary or not, with or without your vehicle, it will still get you a harsh sentence in the end. And when the offenders are released from any penitentiary they still have to deal with parole and other provisions that were set upon them, before the review board released them as a parolee back out into the general public.

Families in NC and many other places won’t let things go like the ones in Brandy’s case either. And yes, I’m still more than ticked off about that one too....Brandy (Norwood) wasn’t drunk but she killed someone with her ignorant actions. She never wanted to apologize, pay for her mistake money wise, and now the charges have been dropped. There is a grieving single father out there with children because of her ignorance. I saw her singing at a nightclub....but she needs to be singing in a prison facility.

Most nearly brainless offenders, celebrity or not, all fail to realize that judges may have stipulations set on them when it comes to sentencing now, but they still have the right to choose if they want to release you or give you the maximum sentence that the law will allow for you on the books, and then throw your sorry as* in prison…it’s the judges choice...a choice that the California Justice System obviously is ignoring whenever possible.

The California Justice System seems to have many problems, because most of these offenders including Brandy, Paris, Lohan, and a lot more need too be either in jail or prison. Now I completely understand that every state is different. But there should be harsher sentencing and less plea-bargins in California so that offenders like these can learn a lesson before some innocent civilian dies over them. Just because they claim they are going to a fancy rehab doesn’t make the general public any more acceptable to their adolescent attitudes and vile dangerous actions against the innocent in society.

Sorry for the long post...but this adolecent behavior just ticks me off sometimes.

dont they all get off easy? c'mon.

umm i live and nc and please do not say that we do automatic death penalty because that is not the case. we are more civilized than that.

I live in NC too.. I'm pretty sure that we don't just kill everyone who murders someone.

Anyway, if Mischa were just anyone, I would have to believe she would get a harsher punishment. I mean, DUI, driving without a license AND marijuana possesion?

"justice" is clearly not blind.

This is so typical everyone! I have several family members in law enforcement, and we were actually talking about these celebrity cases the other day. The general consensus was that these celebrities are being made examples of. People don't spend a week in jail on a DUI unless it's a repeat offense, and many times not even then. You can plea bargain just about ANYthing because of jail overcrowding, and if you're not deemed a "danger" then you're a low risk, you get hit with a fine and released. That's it. It's one thing if you keep doing stupid stuff (Waking up in a childs bed, that kind of stuff) but for a DUI, or a posession charge it will often get pled down.

Get your heads out of the sand everyone that said "Yes" and look deep inside yourselves and ask, "Do I REALLY think that or did I just SAY that cuz I like to see celebrities brought down a little."

Excuse me...we DO give out the death penalty in NC, you should know that one easily if you actually live there. But as we all know it takes YEARS before it actually takes place because everyone has the right to an appeal. You should know that one too no matter what state you live in. That is how most inmates linger out their death penalty...they do it over years time with appeals...the state cannot deny them that legal right. Therefore a set date is NOT set when their case is over.

Now that I can agree with *Mykie7* there is too much jail and prison overcrowding so a lot of offenders go free...unfortunately.

YES!! Is that even a question?

Agreed Mykie!

yes obvioulsy

Yes!! I still can't over the whole Nicole Richie drunk, or whatever she was, driving on the wrong side of the highway/freeway thing and she didn't even really get anything. I know she got "jail time" but 5 minutes in a cell is not a proper punishment for that. If u or I had down that we would have gotten the book thrown at us but because her dad sang some crapy songs in the 80s and she became famous for an eating disorder and being a rich idiot on a stupid reality show she doesn't get the proper sentence.

Oh and I know she was pregnant when she was sentenced but still pregnant women go to jail all the time.

This is pretty standard, but I answered yes, because, generally, all celebrities get off easy. Please, though, stop saying we need to not be so celebrity obsessed and go on these type of sites and actively participate in them. I mean, if you think we need to tone down the celebrities, don't go to entertainment blogs and fuel it yourself. I am proud to be celebrity obsessed, lol. J/K No, but all kidding aside, lets just have fun on Pop.

Lilias, most people DON'T get jail time for that. They would get a ticket for reckless driving, MAYBE lose their license and pay a hefty fine. Even making her GO to the jail would have been out of the question around here.

Is it proper punishment for something that dangerous? No, it really isn't, but the sad fact is that IS what happens. She got treated HARSHER than any run of the mill joe blow out there.

*le sigh* i feel like a lot of people are getting off too easy..but then again even if she was to serve time it would only be an hour or 2 since that's what everyone else seems to do.

In that case I think EVERYONE gets off too easy, sorry sweethearts it's not just Mischa!!! Take a look around your city and ask a few police officers about plea bargaining out and they will tell you that just about all cases do this!!! So people, before you make any more "educated" posts about how mischa got off too easy, eighter 1) take a sociology class, they explain this entire statistic in depth 2)talk to a police officer, they will tell you or 3) google it. PLea bargaining out is standard. if you don't like it, talk to your local congressmen about it.

I don’t need a simple sociology course to explain statistics. I passed the police academy back in the early 90’s with a 4.0 average, I was tops in my entire unit. And I have a Criminal Justice degree, along with other special training dealing with the law. Again, I have been trained and I specialize in many areas so I know criminals very well...thank you.

Now....everyone on this post, regardless of who they know, can say some “educated” facts. One being that this woman just like many others in California can get off easy with plea-bargaining for many different reasons...just like in many other states. People here who are speaking on a hurtful level because someone they know have been affected by drunk drivers, people on drugs, or just careless drivers, are not to be downed. They speak from the heart on their own personal matters.

I think what most people are probably irritated over is the fact that most repeat offenders are let go too many times, and some of them place innocent bystanders in danger each time they continue to break the law...and that’s an understandable attitude. Calm down already.

Oh and by the way...Google CANNOT teach you everthing you need to know about the law. And sociolgy class can only give statistics up to a degree when it comes to the law. Try leading people in the direction of reading a law book like (for my home state) "North Carolina Crimes: A Guidebook on the Elements of Crime" ....for starters on the elements of crimes, and then they can move up or down from there, depending on what kind of information they are looking for.