Lindsay Lohan had her day in court and managed to plea bargain in what critics claim is a case of justice miscarried.
Charged on a misdemeanor of drunken driving and cocaine intake, the plea deal was made in the judge chambers and Lohan managed to get off with a day in jail, 10 days in community service and complete a drug rehab program. Lindsay has been charged with a previous DUI and this was a repeat charge which could easily have carried a more serious sentence.
Lindsay confesses to drug addiction
Lindsay Lohan had confessed 'I am addicted to alcohol and drugs,' the actress said in a statement.
Lindsay Lohan was also placed under a 36 months probation in which she is required to complete an 18 month alcohol education program, pay fines and a three day coroner program. The coroner program for Lindsay Lohan will see her visit the morgue and talk to victims of drunken drivers.
Lindsay accepted she broke the law and did things she was ashamed of " I broke the law and today I took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges in my case," She also added that her life had become unmanageable because she was addicted to alcohol and drugs," Lohan said in a statement released by publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnik.
District attorney offers advice to Lindsay
Deputy district attorney Danette Meyers claimed that Lindsay was getting what every one else would after the hearing. The case was held in Los Angeles County Superior court by Judge H Chester Horn Jr.'s court room. Meyers also sounded the warning that if Lindsay were to get another DUI rap, she would get 120-day jail sentence. If actress Lohan violates her probation in any way, she will face up to a year on each of the drunken driving and cocaine charges and a 90 day in the can on the reckless driving charge.
Lohan had been charged earlier with 7 misdemeanors from two drunken -driving arrests in the last 4 months. Serious felony charges on the cocaine were not pressed since the levels found in her body did not warrant them.
Lindsay Lohan Plea Bargains
Lohan was sentenced to a 96 hour jail term which is the mandatory minimum for a second drunken driving offence. However she was also given a 24 hour credit for hours already served and opted to complete an additional 10 days in community serve rather than go back to jail to complete the balance of 48 hours behind bars. This is said to be an option available for all second time drunken driving offenders. However she still has to serve 24 hours in the city or county jail. She is currently being treated at a residential rehabilitation center in Utah. She has to complete 30 days in-house for her mandatory treatment on the cocaine charges.
Lindsay Lohan had been arrested on two different occasions on May 26 in Beverly Hills and on July 24 Santa Monica. Luckily, in each arrest, her cocaine levels were found to be less than the .05 required to file charges on cocaine abuse. Lohan had then been put on rehabilitation although she never kept her part of the bargain.
Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie were here too
Lindsay Lohan's case follows a series of recent most famous celebrity DUI cases that have resulted in jail time. Paris Hilton concluded her 23 days in jail after she was convicted of driving on a suspended license while on probation for a DUI and reckless driving case. Nicole Ritchie spent four days in jail from a December DUI arrest. She however hardly spent more than two hours in a women's jail.
Former Paris Hilton attorney, Howard L. Weitzman said that Lindsay Lohan seems to be doing the advisable thing by owning up to her mistakes, paying for them and doing the best to put her life back in track.
Lohan fled Crash Scene for Treatment
Lohan had in the May incident crashed her Mercedes-Benz into a tree on Sunset Boulevard and fled the scene to seek treatment. A White powder found in Lohan's purse by Police was said to have been .04 grams of cocaine.