Keep Bailing

By now the Heather Locklear arrest is no longer hot news. Locklear was arrested on Saturday under suspicion of Driving Under the Influence and take to the Santa Barbara County Jail. TMZ has a photo gallery of the CHP officers giving her the roadside sobriety check, her arrest and, apparently, post release.

Of course, these celebrity arrests play out before our eyes online and on TV. Like other aspects of life, we become quite numb to the idea. But that’s TV, right? We’re “regular people” and it would look much different if we were in those shoes. Maybe you think like briana on who posted a comment on TMZ:

when we “normal people” do drugs and drive intoxicated we go to jail for 5 to 10 years and when “famous people” do drugs and drive intoxicated they are asked “will you do it agian?” they nod theree heads and go on with there wonderful happy go lucky lives…

Actually, in Southern California, people who get arrested on suspicion of DUI get treated pretty much like Locklear did: A roadside check takes place, they get arrested and go to jail where they are booked and processed into the jail’s computer system and a national crime system. Then, they wait in jail several hours until they are sober and they get released on their own recognizance (“O.R.”) with a promise to come back and take care of the case at an appointed time.

Yes, there are cases where bail is set or the defendant is kept until arraignment, but for the most part DUI suspects are booked and released, whether you’re Heather Locklear or Richie Sambora or just Joe-Next-Door.