A dishevelled and weeping Paris Hilton was ordered back to jail Friday afternoon, as the bizarre saga continued over her punishment for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer ordered the hotel heiress to serve the entire 45-day sentence that he had originally imposed on her, after she was jailed earlier this week to serve out a reduced 23-day sentence.

Paris Hilton, in photo made available by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, was sent home under house arrest Thursday in a move that has sparked a furor. She was ordered back to jail on Friday.
(Los Angeles County Sheriff/Associated Press)

Though he remained calm throughout the hearing, Sauer appeared irked by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to release Hilton from prison early due to an unspecified "medical condition."

"I at no time condoned the actions of the sheriff and at no time told him I approved the actions," Sauer said in court. "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home."

Hilton's lawyers had claimed that the prison was "a dangerous place for her."

Outside, after Sauer issued his judgment and a wailing Hilton was removed by officers, court spokesman Allan Parachini said the judge saw "no evidence to support the contention that there was a medical condition."

Saur orders Hilton's return to court

The infamous party girl had returned to a Los Angeles courthouse earlier in the day — handcuffed and escorted by police — for the hearing, which questioned her early release on Thursday.

Sheriff's deputies fetched the 26-year-old hotel heiress from her luxe Hollywood Hills home, amid a media circus that many likened to the coverage of the O.J. Simpson case.

Meanwhile, the public's continuing fascination with the "celebutante" was demonstrated by the growing crowd of Hilton fans and critics who joined the throngs of media stationed the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

News about Hilton — arguably the most prominent of a current crop of celebrities deemed famous simply for being famous — has dominated the news this week.

Clad in a black designer dress and jewelry, she made a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, speaking to reporters on the red carpet before sitting down to a show where she was the butt of host Sarah Silverman's jokes and the laughingstock of the audience.

Later that night, she submitted to authorities and began her prison stay, originally set at 45 days but later reduced to 23.

However, it emerged early Thursday that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had allowed Hilton to trade her jail term for 45 days of home confinement, with five days considered already served. The reason given was an unspecified medical condition.

Uproar over house arrest reassignment

A public uproar emerged almost instantly, with the majority charging that the wealthy heiress was receiving preferential treatment. Police officials, civil rights activists, talk show pundits, columnists and the public all weighed in on television, radio, in print and online.

Some legal experts, however, have pointed out that Hilton's original misdemeanour offence — violating probation in relation to her alcohol-related reckless driving case — did not merit the original 45-day jail sentence.

Sauer, who initially served Hilton the lengthy prison term, had said at the time of sentencing that she was not to serve house detention.

Late Thursday, the city attorney filed a petition demanding Hilton be returned to jail and questioning Baca's decision to reassign her. Sauer then issued an order for Hilton to return to court Friday.

The session was delayed somewhat by conflicting decisions from the court.

Hilton was purportedly granted permission to take part via a telephone call from her home. However, Saur later issued a directive ordering her to appear in person and denied he had ever approved the telephone call.

With files from the Associated Press