Too famous for jail

—By JG

| Wed Sep. 6, 2000 12:00 AM PDT

Being rich and famous is now a legally acceptable excuse for avoiding jail time in Australia, where convicted radio talkshow host John Laws was given a cushy suspended sentence on the basis that he was too wealthy to fine and too famous to imprison, according to the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.

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Laws was convicted of soliciting information from a juror in a 1998 murder trial about how the jury had reached its decision -- a crime that could bring up to seven years in prison in Australia.

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However, the judge ruled that, Laws' "high profile" status made him a target for "personal injury or worse" if sentenced to jail. Even home detention would be too much, as is it would "risk attracting the derision of the community."

In a sidenote, Robert Downey, Jr. reportedly just purchased a house in Melbourne.

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