Lohan is a ‘free’ woman
The actor’s legal woes end after five years.
LOS ANGELES:
A smiling Lindsay Lohan was released on Thursday from almost five years of formal probation, but the US actor was told by the judge to “stop the nightclubbing” and behave more maturely.
Lohan, 25, who has made multiple trips to court, jail and rehab since a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine possession arrest and a case regarding a jewellery theft, was praised for completing months of community service at a Los Angeles morgue and court-ordered psychotherapy. “She has done everything that this court has asked of her,” Los Angeles Superior Court judge Stephanie Sautner said while adding, “Probation terminates today. Now.”
Lohan, dressed conservatively in a powder-blue suit and black top, let out a sigh of relief and hugged her attorney. “I just want to thank you for being fair. What you’ve done has really opened a lot of doors for me,” said the 25-year-old.
However, the judge warned, “You need to live your life in a more mature way. Stop the nightclubbing and focus on the work,” adding, “I know it’s hard when people are following you all over the place, but that’s the life you chose.”
Lohan — the promising child star of hit Disney movies The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday — is well-known for her hard partying and has faced a series of legal tangles over the years. She was sentenced to 35 days of house detention last May as part of a plea bargain over the alleged theft of a $2,500 necklace from a jewellery shop near her home in Venice Beach.
In November, Lohan spent five hours in prison after being sentenced to a 30-day stretch for breaching probation on previous offenses including a 2007 drug and drunk driving misdemeanour. Her probation terms notably included doing community service at the LA morgue and undergoing psychotherapy sessions.
In court on Thursday, the judge lifted Lohan’s probation for the 2007 drunk driving case and changed her formal probation for the necklace theft into informal probation. That informal probation term ends in May 2014, but under its terms Lohan does not need to appear in court again as long as she does not commit a new offense.
(With additional information from Reuters)
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2012.
A smiling Lindsay Lohan was released on Thursday from almost five years of formal probation, but the US actor was told by the judge to “stop the nightclubbing” and behave more maturely.
Lohan, 25, who has made multiple trips to court, jail and rehab since a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine possession arrest and a case regarding a jewellery theft, was praised for completing months of community service at a Los Angeles morgue and court-ordered psychotherapy. “She has done everything that this court has asked of her,” Los Angeles Superior Court judge Stephanie Sautner said while adding, “Probation terminates today. Now.”
Lohan, dressed conservatively in a powder-blue suit and black top, let out a sigh of relief and hugged her attorney. “I just want to thank you for being fair. What you’ve done has really opened a lot of doors for me,” said the 25-year-old.
However, the judge warned, “You need to live your life in a more mature way. Stop the nightclubbing and focus on the work,” adding, “I know it’s hard when people are following you all over the place, but that’s the life you chose.”
Lohan — the promising child star of hit Disney movies The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday — is well-known for her hard partying and has faced a series of legal tangles over the years. She was sentenced to 35 days of house detention last May as part of a plea bargain over the alleged theft of a $2,500 necklace from a jewellery shop near her home in Venice Beach.
In November, Lohan spent five hours in prison after being sentenced to a 30-day stretch for breaching probation on previous offenses including a 2007 drug and drunk driving misdemeanour. Her probation terms notably included doing community service at the LA morgue and undergoing psychotherapy sessions.
In court on Thursday, the judge lifted Lohan’s probation for the 2007 drunk driving case and changed her formal probation for the necklace theft into informal probation. That informal probation term ends in May 2014, but under its terms Lohan does not need to appear in court again as long as she does not commit a new offense.
(With additional information from Reuters)
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2012.