Lindsay Lohan fails alcohol test again, ordered to court

Lindsay Lohan failed a court-ordered alcohol test last week and will have to go before a judge for a probation violation hearing Thursday morning, according to a source close to the case.

Lohan's failed test, which the source said took place on June 13, comes while the actress is confined to her Venice Beach, California, home because of a jail sentence imposed last month.

The actress will appear before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge

Stephanie Sautner at 10 a.m. Thursday, the same judge who sentenced her to 120 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to stealing a necklace, a prosecution spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Lohan was allowed to serve a reduced sentence at home because, as a nonviolent offender, she qualified for a home confinement program intended to reduce overcrowding.

But it is not likely Sautner has missed seeing media reports showing Lohan socializing on the roof of her luxury home in recent days.

"When my friends come over, they're not drinking," Lohan told an interviewer with Life & Style magazine. "Alcohol is not in my house, so it's just not a part of my life."

That interview was given on June 18, five days after she allegedly failed the test.

The actress, who turns 25 on July 2, has managed to avoid more than a few days in jail despite two drunk driving convictions, a long list of probation violations and the recent theft conviction.

"Because of budget constraints and because we're under a federal consent decree that requires us to curb our overcrowding situation, nonviolent offenders, lesser crimes, get 20% of their sentence," Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Without the latest violation, it was expected she would be released from home confinement in early July. She would then resume her work on 480 hours of community service the judge imposed.

Lohan entered drug rehab last year to avoid a jail sentence imposed by another judge. But Sautner made it clear in court last month that she didn't think drugs and alcohol were the root of Lohan's legal troubles.

"She's got other problems for which she self-medicates," Sautner said.

Lohan's four years in and out of court -- and sometimes jail -- started with two drunken driving arrests in 2007. Since then, she's spent more than eight months in substance abuse rehabilitation programs.

A probation report released last month said the actress "appears to be continuing to struggle with substance abuse issues."

"It would appear that the defendant's criminal conduct is increasing in seriousness and severity," the probation report said, yet it suggested she serve her sentence on probation and not in jail.

Lohan tested positive for alcohol use, a violation of probation rules, in February, the report said.

It also revealed that the drug test failure last August, which resulted in a jail sentence and court-ordered rehab, involved cocaine and amphetamines.

A rollercoaster day for LiLo

Troubled star Lindsay Lohan was ordered to jail for 120 days for violating her probation by allegedly stealing a necklace, but was later released on bail.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner also reduced the charge from a felony grand theft to a misdemeanour.

The court ruled on Friday that the ‘Mean Girls' star violated her 2007 drunk-driving probation by wearing a gold chain out of a Venice jewellery store Kamofie & Co in January and failing to return it until the police got involved, reported Los Angeles Times.

Besides 120 days in jail, Judge Sautner gave her 480 hours of community service. The 24-year-old actress was led out of the Airport Courthouse after an afternoon of testimony.

Defence attorney Shawn Chapman Holley immediately sought to post the $75,000-bail and filed an appeal of Judge Sautner's decision.

Ms. Lohan was processed at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood late on Friday and was released on bail shortly after 9 p.m., said authorities.

The actress will remain free until her June 3 trial but is required to begin her community service by working 120 hours at the Los Angeles County morgue and 360 hours at the Downtown Women's Shelter on skid row, the judge ruled.

Judge Sautner said the assignments would give Ms. Lohan a real-life look at “how truly needy women and women who have fallen on real hard times have to live”.

It was the fourth time Ms. Lohan was sentenced to jail — she spent a few hours twice and 14 days on a 90-day sentence last summer.

Sale of surveillance video could help Lohan defense

A Venice jewelry store that reported the alleged theft of a necklace has now sold tapes of the actress with the necklace. Legal experts say the sale could prove the store had a financial incentive to accuse Lohan of theft.

The tabloid frenzy over Lindsay Lohan may have given the actress a new and potent defense as she fights charges that she stole a necklace from a Venice jewelry store.

The jewelry store that reported the alleged theft to the Los Angeles Police Department has now sold surveillance video that shows Lohan with the necklace to the media. Still photos from the video appeared on "Entertainment Tonight's" website, and the video is scheduled to be available at some point on a website run by a firm distributing the tape.

"Many individuals want to be able to see the video streams from the jewelry store's surveillance cameras, and we have obtained the exclusive license for them," said a message placed on the website that plans to stream the video. "The tapes speak for themselves."

The sale of the tape underscores the sometimes uncomfortable nexus of Hollywood's celebrity culture and L.A.'s criminal justice system.

It's unclear exactly what the video shows — and what effect its sale and broadcast will have. Lohan faced felony charges for allegedly stealing the $2,500 necklace — the most serious in a string of recent run-ins she's had with the law.

Sources told The Times that the tape is a key piece of evidence — but not the only one. Paparazzi photos taken days later also show the actress wearing the necklace. The case file includes statements from people who were inside the store at the same time as Lohan, said the sources, who spoke on condition that they not be named because the case is ongoing.

Some legal experts said it could give ammunition to Lohan's defense team, which can now argue the jewelry store had a financial incentive to accuse Lohan of theft.

"I don't care who it is [shown on the video], it's a negative for the prosecution," said James Blatt, a veteran defense lawyer whose clients have included former San Fernando Valley drug dealer and convicted killer Jesse James Hollywood. "Somebody is getting paid and that should not occur."

Blatt and others said the details of what is captured on tape also matter, particularly if she appears to hide the necklace as she leaves the store. "People have to stop and think about it; is this woman [Lindsay Lohan] going to risk everything for a $2,500 necklace?" he said.

Loyola Law School professor Stan Goldman said that if the case does go to trial, Lohan's defense could try to use the payment to attack the credibility of the jewelry store. "If you're the prosecution, you would have rather that this did not happen," he said.

But Glen T. Jonas, also a longtime defense attorney, said the sale of the video doesn't change the images captured on the video and ultimately, shouldn't present big problems for the prosecution's case.

"The video is newsworthy and the public has a right to see it," Jonas said. "It only becomes a problem if a specific employee's testimony is necessary to establish the elements of the charges, and that employee profited from the sale of the video."

He noted that although every case has issues, "if I had to choose between an erratic client who picks up cases monthly, or neutralizing the damage to the credibility of video that speaks for itself, I think I would choose the latter."

Neither L.A. prosecutors nor Lohan's attorney returned calls seeking comment.

Lohan will be back in court Thursday. Her attorney has suggested that she would agree to a plea deal if she would be spared jail time, but the judge has repeatedly said that any deal would involve some incarceration.

"This case does involve jail time — period," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz said. "If you plead in front of me — if this case resolves in front of me — you are going to jail. Period. It may be an issue as to amount of time."

Lohan has been in and out of court and rehab over the last two years. She spent three months at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage under orders from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox, who spared the actress jail time in October after Lohan had tested positive for drugs while on probation in a DUI case. If she is convicted in the necklace theft, she could serve jail time for that crime and also be eligible for additional detention for violating her probation.

Riverside County prosecutors said they were still considering whether to file charges against Lohan for allegedly shoving an employee at the Ford center last year. The rehab center employee reported that Lohan had assaulted her but has since said she does not want to press charges.