Michael Thomas Sauer (December 13, 1937 – May 14, 2021) was an American judge on the

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

. He is best known for sentencing socialite

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

to 45 days in jail for violating the terms of her

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

. He was previously a Deputy City Attorney for

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and unsuccessfully argued the famous '' Cohen v. California'' case before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

Early life

Sauer grew up in the

Windsor Square Windsor Square is a small, historic neighborhood in the Mid-Wilshire, Wilshire region of Los Angeles, California. It is highly diverse in ethnic makeup, with an older population than the city as a whole. It is the site of the official residence ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles. He attended

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

and later worked for eight years for the city attorney's office. In 1971, as deputy city attorney in charge of appellate cases, he unsuccessfully argued before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in the case of Cohen v. California (arguing against famed first amendment attorney Melville B. Nimmer) — an obscenity case stemming from a defendant who appeared in a county courtroom wearing a jacket decrying the draft. Appointed to Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1972 by Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, Sauer was elevated to the Superior Court bench in 2000 when the two courts combined. While on the bench in May 1993, Sauer was responsible for removing the MCA World Headquarters shooting by John Brian Jarvis to California Superior Court. In 2003, he was moved from criminal court cases to misdemeanor arraignments — a posting heavy on traffic violations and DUIs.

Paris Hilton

In May 2007 Sauer sentenced socialite Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail for violating her probation. Following the sentencing, Sauer reportedly received a standing ovation from his church in Los Angeles. However, the judge stated that this incident did not occur, and was also surprised at the amount of

publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) via the media. The sub ...

surrounding the jail sentence. On Thursday, June 7,

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

officials released Hilton because of an undisclosed medical condition and sent her home under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

. She had been in jail for only three days. Hilton was fitted with an

ankle monitor The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

and was expected to finish her 45-day sentence at home. City attorney Rocky Delgadillo filed a petition late Thursday afternoon questioning whether

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (born May 27, 1942) is a former American law enforcement officer and convicted felon who served as the 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from 1998 to 2014. In 2017, he was convicted of felony obstruction of justice ...

should be held in contempt of court for releasing Hilton on Thursday morning. Sauer himself had expressed his unhappiness with Hilton's release before Delgadillo asked him to return her to court. When Sauer sentenced Hilton to jail, he ruled specifically that she could not serve her sentence at home under electronic monitoring (house arrest). The day after her release, June 8, Sauer ordered Hilton to report immediately to court, and then ordered her to return to jail to serve out her entire sentence.

Death

Sauer died on May 14, 2021, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Photo of Judge Michael T SauerOral Argument in Cohen v. California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer, Michael T. 1937 births 2021 deaths California lawyers California state court judges Loyola Law School alumni Superior court judges in the United States Lawyers from Los Angeles