Angry judge revokes Lindsay Lohan probation
October 19th, 2011
An angry Los Angeles judge on Wednesday revoked the probation for Lindsay Lohan because she failed to perform community service, and admonished the troubled actress for failing to treat her sentence seriously.
At a progress hearing for Lohan, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner called her previous ruling of probation on a theft charge a "gift" and told Lohan, "there's something called looking a gift horse in the mouth."
Lohan's attorney Shawn Holley tried in vain to argue that her client had complied substantially with other portions of Judge Sautner's sentence, including psychological counseling and attendance in a program for shoplifters, and should be allowed to continue uninterrupted on probation.
But Judge Sautner said she was troubled that Lohan had "blown off" the court's order to work at a downtown Los Angeles women's detention center, and instead was reassigned by city officials to work in a Red Cross program without court approval.
Sautner noted that in the past six months, Lohan had completed only a tiny fraction of her community service.
"Nobody has the power to change my sentence," Judge Sautner said, then later pronounced, "I am revoking her probation."
Lohan, 25, dressed demurely in white, spent much of the court session shaking her head as she was admonished by the judge. She was led from the courtroom in handcuffs but expected to post bail and not spend time behind bars.
Judge Sautner ordered Lohan to appear at a November 2 hearing at which court officials and attorneys will present evidence as to whether Lohan did, in fact, violate her probation. If so, she could be returned to jail.
TROUBLED LIFE AND CAREER
Earlier this year, Judge Sautner sentenced the actress to 360 hours community service at the women's detention center, and another 120 hours at a morgue as part of a punishment for stealing a gold necklace from a jewelry store. The "Mean Girls" actress also served 35 days under house arrest and was ordered into a shoplifter's counseling program and psychological therapy.
Holley pointed to "glowing" reports from Lohan's probation officer, her therapy counselor and the shoplifting program as proof that Lohan was trying to comply with the court's order.
She noted that Lohan still had six months to complete the community service portion of her sentence and pleaded with the judge to allow her to do so.
But judge Sautner was unyielding. She cited a letter from the detention center in which Lohan was said to have decided she didn't want to work there because it was not "fulfilling."
The judge scoffed at the idea that probation was supposed to be a "fulfilling" experience, and hammered Holley on the fact that Lohan has only performed about 21 hours service.
Her excuse, the judge said, was that she was working overseas in cities like Paris and Milan. Holley shot back that Lohan can find work only overseas and not in the United States. She said there seemed to be a "rallying cry" to send her client to jail, but judge Sautner said she had taken many steps to keep Lohan out of jail.
The day's appearance proved to be another low point in the career of actress who rose to fame as a star in Disney movies like "The Parent Trap," but has seen her career derailed by multiple trips to jail and rehab since 2007.
Lohan's publicist, Steve Honig, said in a statement that the actress was hoping the matter would be resolved at the November 2 hearing "and the Court will reinstate probation and allow her to continue fulfilling her community service."
