Justice, Hollywood Style

Published: November 10, 2002
As a legal proceeding, the Winona Ryder shoplifting trial was a waste of time. But as a window on the folkways of Hollywood, it set a new standard.

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. Ms. Ryder gamely stoked the publicity machine, dressing for trial in chic outfits and posing for a fashion magazine's cover in a ''Free Winona'' T-shirt.

Hollywood's famed clubbiness was confirmed when several jurors turned out to work in the industry, including Peter Guber, a onetime studio chief for Columbia Pictures who released three of the defendant's movies. The prosecutors presented their case in the best let's-put-on-a-show style, screening surveillance tapes of Ms. Ryder as she walked through the Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills with unpaid-for items.

Ms. Ryder's legal team offered a uniquely Hollywood defense: that she was too fashionable to be guilty. Her lawyer, Mark Geragos, mocked the prosecution's claim that she had stolen clothing by cutting off the security tags with scissors. ''This woman is known for her fashion sense,'' Mr. Geragos scoffed. ''Was she going to start a new line of 'Winona Wear' with holes in it?''

In the end, the prosecutors got their conviction and their names in the paper. Saks got free publicity. (The coverage helpfully included a list of all the designer goods Ms. Ryder considered worth stealing). 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.

From the New York Times Online
Justice, Hollywood Style