First the bad news: Lindsay Lohan still faces the possibility of jail. The good news? At least she can make her next birthday bash.
Tuesday's hearing on whether the star violated her probation in her DUI case kicked off with prosecutor Danette Meyers telling Judge Marsha Revel that she had been unable to procure Lohan's records from her treatment facility. After some back and forth, Lohan's lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, told Her Honor she did not object to the program's records being turned over to the D.A.
After a brief break, the two sides then argued whether Lohan's SCRAM bracelet alert a month ago was not just a violation of bail but also a violation of Lohan's probation.
"I believe it's a violation of probation because the court ordered her not to drink alcohol," said Meyers. "We have witnesses to prove she had alcohol in her system...We are also prepared to put on evidence the device was tampered with."
Holley, on the other hand, told the judge she was not prepared to call experts to testify about the reliability of the device or lack thereof.
The SCRAM issue quickly became moot, however, when Revel ruled that despite the court previously feeling that the bracelet's results (which showed the actress with a blood alcohol level of .03 when she supposedly was in violation) were credible, such evidence would not be admissible in today's proceeding.
"The court felt they were reliable enough to issue a bench warrant and double the bail," said the judge. "[But] I'm not going to allow as part of the probation violation hearing anything about the SCRAM...The violation of the court is whether or not she followed the court's orders in going to the program once a week."
That pretty much means Lohan's freedom now hinges on whether she attended her alcohol education classes.
Meyers subsequently called witnesses for the prosecution to prove she did not. Among those was Cherie Marshall, cofounder of the Right On Program, the treatment facility Lohan enrolled in.
The assistant D.A. used her testimony to show that Lohan had eight unexcused absences since she began attending weekly sessions Dec. 15 at the behest of a verbal order from Revel, given over the phone.
Marshall admitted that after Lohan's first class on Dec. 16, the thesp did not attend until Dec. 30.
"Did you think that I didn't mean it?" asked Judge Revel regarding the reason why Lohan was not following her order to attend once a week.
Marshall replied it was never her idea not to comply with a court order. Marshall testified that she did not believe Lohan was officially ordered to attend the program once a week because no official written order was ever sent.
"If a judge calls, would you take it seriously?" asks Judge Revel.
Marshall said Revel's call was the first one she has ever received from a judge directly. She also noted that the "chaos" of Lohan's celebrity prompted her to have to reschedule a number of group sessions to maintain the privacy of the other group participants.
Meyers subsequently ran down the dates of other classes Lindsay had missed and her excuses, including May 17, when she was partying it up at the Cannes Film Festival.
When asked by the prosecutor if Lohan was being truthful about her absences, Marshall replied, "No."
The May 17 class Lohan skipped was right around the time she also failed to show up for a probation hearing, citing a stolen passport, displeasing Revel and prompting her to issue an arrest warrant. And when she finally did appear the following week, she was late.
For today's session, the erstwhile Freaky Friday star, who turned 24 last Friday, showed up early this time around. Clad in a black turtleneck and gray slacks, she sat quietly at the defense table as both attorneys went at it.
On a separate matter, Judge Revel also denied Michael Lohan's request to meet with her in private in chambers. Instead, she said Lindsay's father can submit a letter that can be shown to both parties and Lohan.
The hearing adjourned until 1:30 p.m. PT.
E! News meanwhile has learned that Lohan has planned yet another birthday soiree tonight, this one an "official" party at Drai's Hollywood (and let's hope it's one where the staff doesn't get punchy), though according to a source, it all depends on what happens today in court.
Story developing...
Tuesday's hearing on whether the star violated her probation in her DUI case kicked off with prosecutor Danette Meyers telling Judge Marsha Revel that she had been unable to procure Lohan's records from her treatment facility. After some back and forth, Lohan's lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, told Her Honor she did not object to the program's records being turned over to the D.A.
After a brief break, the two sides then argued whether Lohan's SCRAM bracelet alert a month ago was not just a violation of bail but also a violation of Lohan's probation.
"I believe it's a violation of probation because the court ordered her not to drink alcohol," said Meyers. "We have witnesses to prove she had alcohol in her system...We are also prepared to put on evidence the device was tampered with."
Holley, on the other hand, told the judge she was not prepared to call experts to testify about the reliability of the device or lack thereof.
The SCRAM issue quickly became moot, however, when Revel ruled that despite the court previously feeling that the bracelet's results (which showed the actress with a blood alcohol level of .03 when she supposedly was in violation) were credible, such evidence would not be admissible in today's proceeding.
"The court felt they were reliable enough to issue a bench warrant and double the bail," said the judge. "[But] I'm not going to allow as part of the probation violation hearing anything about the SCRAM...The violation of the court is whether or not she followed the court's orders in going to the program once a week."
That pretty much means Lohan's freedom now hinges on whether she attended her alcohol education classes.
Meyers subsequently called witnesses for the prosecution to prove she did not. Among those was Cherie Marshall, cofounder of the Right On Program, the treatment facility Lohan enrolled in.
The assistant D.A. used her testimony to show that Lohan had eight unexcused absences since she began attending weekly sessions Dec. 15 at the behest of a verbal order from Revel, given over the phone.
Marshall admitted that after Lohan's first class on Dec. 16, the thesp did not attend until Dec. 30.
"Did you think that I didn't mean it?" asked Judge Revel regarding the reason why Lohan was not following her order to attend once a week.
Marshall replied it was never her idea not to comply with a court order. Marshall testified that she did not believe Lohan was officially ordered to attend the program once a week because no official written order was ever sent.
"If a judge calls, would you take it seriously?" asks Judge Revel.
Marshall said Revel's call was the first one she has ever received from a judge directly. She also noted that the "chaos" of Lohan's celebrity prompted her to have to reschedule a number of group sessions to maintain the privacy of the other group participants.
Meyers subsequently ran down the dates of other classes Lindsay had missed and her excuses, including May 17, when she was partying it up at the Cannes Film Festival.
When asked by the prosecutor if Lohan was being truthful about her absences, Marshall replied, "No."
The May 17 class Lohan skipped was right around the time she also failed to show up for a probation hearing, citing a stolen passport, displeasing Revel and prompting her to issue an arrest warrant. And when she finally did appear the following week, she was late.
For today's session, the erstwhile Freaky Friday star, who turned 24 last Friday, showed up early this time around. Clad in a black turtleneck and gray slacks, she sat quietly at the defense table as both attorneys went at it.
On a separate matter, Judge Revel also denied Michael Lohan's request to meet with her in private in chambers. Instead, she said Lindsay's father can submit a letter that can be shown to both parties and Lohan.
The hearing adjourned until 1:30 p.m. PT.
E! News meanwhile has learned that Lohan has planned yet another birthday soiree tonight, this one an "official" party at Drai's Hollywood (and let's hope it's one where the staff doesn't get punchy), though according to a source, it all depends on what happens today in court.
Story developing...
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