We are pleased to see the New York Times in an editorial today, Justice, Hollywood Style, adopt our long held position on the Winona Ryder trial:

"Anywhere else, this petty crime by a first-time offender would have quickly ended with a plea bargain. The prosecutors, of course, made high-minded statements about the need to prove no one is above the law. But the truth is that in the great Hollywood tradition, this clunky script was green-lighted simply because a big star's name was attached."

We hope the Times is right in concluding:

"Ms. Ryder, who is not expected to do jail time, could benefit most of all. Although some producers may steer clear of a convicted felon, the trial could well revive a slumping career. "The town is behind her," one casting agent told USA Today after the verdict came in. "She's even more sought-after now." Which gives Ms. Ryder's tale the most essential Hollywood quality of all: a happy ending."

Update: We also found these interesting biographical details about Ms. Ryder in Sunday's Sydney Morning Herald of all places, in article aptly called Winona Steals The Show But Poor Dad Leon Does The Time by Duncan Campbell, reporting from Beverly Hills.

"Ryder has always been an unconventional soul. Born Winona Horowitz near Winona, Minnesota, she is the daughter of the archivist to Timothy Leary, the writer and LSD exponent who was also her godfather. Allen Ginsberg was a family friend. She was studying acting by 11 and did her first film at 15. She picked up Oscar nominations for both The Age of Innocence in 1993 and Little Women the following year. "

Mr. Duncan compares Ms. Ryder's likely shoplifting penalty to that received by Leonardo Andrade in California. Andrade, whose case is up for review by the Supreme Court, received 50 years for stealing $153 in videotapes for his children to watch. It's no wonder the civilized war looks at our penalty structure with utter bewilderment--on everything from petty shoplifting to the death penalty for juvenile offenders and the mentally ill, to jailing drug possessors, we have catupulted our justice system into the realms of outer space.