LOS ANGELES - The many moods of Paris Hilton shifted again when the jail-bound socialite rehired the publicist she blamed for her 45-day sentence.
Elliot Mintz confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he is again representing the 26-year-old socialite, who was ordered to report to county jail by June 5 for violating the terms of her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
Mintz, 62, wouldn't elaborate on why he reunited with Hilton. The publicist, whose clients have included John Lennon and Bob Dylan, issued a statement Sunday night that he and Hilton had parted ways over an apparent "misunderstanding she received from me regarding the terms of her probation.''
In a court appearance Friday, Hilton told the judge Mintz informed her it was all right to drive on a suspended license for work obligations. Mintz also testified Hilton believed she was allowed to drive. The judge called Mintz's testimony worthless.
Hilton -- star of reality TV show "The Simple Life'' on the E network -- has called the sentence unfair, and her fans have posted a petition on the Internet urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to pardon her.
"I feel that I was treated unfairly and that the sentence is both cruel and unwarranted and I don't deserve this,'' Hilton told photographers assembled outside her home Saturday.
A Schwarzenegger spokesman told The Associated Press it was "premature'' for the governor to get involved.
The governor's office hasn't reviewed the petition but has received individual emails from constituents both for and against a gubernatorial pardon, Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Tuesday.
"We'll treat this as we would any other case of this nature, but it would be premature for the governor to get involved until the individual has exhausted his or her judicial remedies,'' McLear said.
The petition, which had more than 900 signatures by Tuesday morning, urges the California actor-turned-governor to pardon Hilton because she provides "beauty and excitement to (most of) our otherwise mundane lives.''
"If the late former president Gerald Ford could find it in his heart to pardon the late former president Richard Nixon after his mistake(s), we undeniably support Paris Hilton being pardoned for her honest mistake as well, and we hope and expect the governor will understand and grant this unusual but important request in good faith to Ms. Paris Whitney Hilton,'' the petition says.
Meanwhile, Hilton's lawyers have filed a notice with the court indicating their intent to appeal the decision. The document is required before a formal appeal can be lodged.
The latest instalment of "The Simple Life," which throws Hilton and pal Nicole Richie, 25, into everyday situations, premieres May 28 on E After famously feuding and filming their parts separately last season, the celebutantes reunite as camp counsellors for the show's fifth installment.
