No Chance of an Early Release for Lindsay Lohan, Experts Say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lindsay Lohan is seen in her September 2010 booking photo
UPDATE: Judge Patricia Schnegg, Assistant Supervising Judge for the L.A. County Criminal Courts, threw out Judge Fox's ruling Friday evening, setting Lohan's bail at $300,000. Lohan posted bail Friday night and is set to appear back in court Oct. 22.
---
Just as Pop Tarts experts predicted earlier this week, Lindsay Lohan was ordered back to jail this week for a third time – and what is most likely to be her longest stay, after failing a court-appointed drug test.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a hearing Friday morning, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden Fox denied the troubled actress bail and ordered that she remain in custody until the next hearing on October 22, at which point she may have to serve even more time behind bars.
“This is becoming is an increasingly common practice among judges in L.A – if he had sentenced her to a particular time such as 60 or 90 days the sheriff would have kicked her out after a few days due to prison overcrowding, but because he didn’t sentence her to a particular time without bail she has to stay in,” Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Mark Geragos told Pop Tarts. “At the next hearing, the Judge has an array of alternatives – he can either sentence her to more time in jail, or rehab.”
The 24-year-old was handcuffed and escorted in an unmarked police vehicle to the Lynwood Correctional Facility immediately following Friday’s court appearance, the same facility she recently served time for violating the terms of her 2007 DUI probation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Geragos said that Lohan’s conditions are likely to be similar to her last stay, although authorities may make an extra effort to segregate her from the other prisoners as they know for certain that she will be there for at least 30 days.
And it seems several California legal experts agree, nor are they surprised by Fox’s decision.
“It was a very fair call, Lindsay keeps playing the system and doesn’t seem to get it,” Santa Monica-based Criminal Defense Attorney Steve Cron said. “She chose to continue using drugs even though she was being tested, and this is the price she has to pay. Even ‘good behavior’ won’t get her out over the next four weeks, she is actually going to have to properly serve time.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Geragos concurred that Fox had no alternative but to deal the “Mean Girls” star the harsh sentence given her history of bad behavior.
“It’s unfortunate that the way the court system is set up we criminalize addiction, but Judge Fox is one of the best judges in the county and he knows exactly what he’s doing,” Geragos added.