Last month we learned that Paris Hilton got herself arrested and charged with cocaine possession while she was partying with her boyfriend Cy Waits in Las Vegas, NV. Since that time, Paris has been spotted vacationing her blues away in Hawaii while she awaited the outcome of the criminal case against her. Well, it turns out that there will no longer be a criminal case against her because her lawyers managed to plea bargain her crime down to a misdemeanor … meaning she will get off with only a slap on the wrists:

Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanors in her pending drug possession case, netting her a year of probation but no jail time. Hilton is scheduled to formally plead guilty Monday to misdemeanor drug possession and misdemeanor obstructing an officer before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure. The 29-year-old was arrested late on Aug. 27 on one felony count of cocaine possession after she opened a Chanel flap bag to get some lip balm and a small plastic bag of cocaine fell out, landing in the palm of a Las Vegas police lieutenant. The original felony charge would not have resulted in any jail time. By statute a conviction for felony cocaine possession requires mandatory probation. According to the plea agreement obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, two consecutive six-month sentences in the Clark County Detention Center will be suspended and Hilton will be placed on year long probation. If Hilton is arrested during her probation, she will have to serve a full year in jail, according to the plea deal. “Defendant shall stay out of trouble. Defendant agrees that an arrest for any charge, excluding minor traffic violations for which a citation is issued, shall result in the immediate termination of her probation and the execution of the suspended sentences,” the plea deal states. A minor traffic violation is anything other than a reckless driving or driving under the influence charge. Hilton must also successfully complete a substance abuse program, pay a $2,000 fine and perform 200 hours of community service, according to the plea deal. The nature and location of the community service will be determined later. Clark County District Attorney David Roger said, “We fashioned a resolution which would give us complete control over her future. If she does not toe the line and stay out of trouble she will do one year in the Clark County Detention Center.” Most other defendants would not have a year of jail hanging over their heads for being arrested, Roger said. Normally a conviction would be necessary. “There are very strict limits on her future conduct. We will not have to litigate whether she was convicted of the charge or whether the charge was a major or minor offense,” Roger said. Roger said prison time was not an option because of the limitations on the charge by statute, and that Hilton won’t get special treatment. She will have to walk through the front doors of the courthouse “just like any other criminal defendant,” he said. David Chesnoff, the attorney representing the hotel heiress, could not be reached for comment Friday.

HMMM … I suppose that while Paris is getting off with a slap on the wrists now, she will really be punished if she gets arrested in the coming year. I cannot think of a more successful deterrent than the promise of jailtime for just one arrest. Will Paris learn how to behave and manage to keep herself out of trubs long enough to avoid serving another jail sentence … I guess we shall see.

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