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As prosecutors laid out their airtight case in the matter of The People Vs. Paris Hilton, one woman dared to defy popular opinion and stand shoulder to shoulder with the heiress in her darkest hour, laughing defiantly during their arguments, and brazenly asking of the judge, "May I have your autograph?" The woman: Paris's mom, Kathy Hilton, best known as the star of I Want To Be A Hilton, in addition to spawning the polarizing fragrance magnate. In a statement dictated personally to fellow rich ladyfriend Barbara Walters, Mother Hilton had this to say about her daughter's misfortunes:

"We can only hope that something positive will come from all of this.

Hopefully, young people who look up to people like Paris will learn from this," Hilton said in a statement read Wednesday on ABC's "The View" by co-host Barbara Walters.

It's not quite the bucket of cold water that was Candy Spelling's take on the controversy, but at least she's backed away from claiming the sentence was merely a judge's crass grab at fame (or whatever that autograph comment was supposed to mean), and has begun to seek out the Swarovski-crystal-studded lining to this trying ordeal. For if the legions of impressionable pre-teen Paris-ettes are to take anything positive from her daughter's martyrdom—which, Access Hollywood is reporting, will involve a minimum of 23 days behind bars—it will be the lesson that one should never, ever rely on your diminutive, sycophantic publicist to get you off, no matter how many times he reassures you that, "Trust me: The name Hilton can still move mountains in this town. Now go shopping or to the Stoli Hotel, and let me do the heavy lifting."