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Actress Lindsay Lohan appeared in court before Judge Keith L. Schwartz today, and while the jewelry theft case has not been resolved, what lies ahead for the 24-year-old starlet, depending on the legal choices she makes, has been made perfectly clear.
After asking Lohan's attorney Shawn Chapman Holley for permission to address her client, Schwartz spoke frankly to the troubled star, prefacing his statement by acknowledging that he and she do not know each other, and that his policy is to treat everyone who comes before him in his court the same. However, he was very direct in his caution to Lohan. If she opts to take a plea, the case will be settled in Schwartz's court, and Lohan will face jail time. "I want you to have no apprehension about this: You will be going to jail, period," he told her.
The case was not settled today because new information was presented to Holley, and she needs adequate time to review the material, and confer with Lohan, as well as possibly meet with Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers, who is the prosecutor on the case, to discuss the terms of the plea agreement, if any is sought.
Lohan has been scheduled to return to Schwartz's courtroom on March 10th at 8:30 a.m. when the case will either be settled as a plea (of guilty or no contest) and Schwartz will impose sentencing--which will include an as-yet undetermined amount of jail time. Should Lohan not accept a plea, the case will not be settled in Schwartz's courtroom, and will then go into the preliminary hearing phase, which, combined with the probation violation case, will go before another judge, and possibly to trial.
In addition to clearly mapping out what will happen to Lohan should she accept a plea, Schwartz spoke to Lohan about whatever means it may take to help the young woman "meet her potential" and overcome her troubles with the law. His recommendations include mandatory psychological counseling to help her handle her addictions and focus on getting her life in order, as well as seeking a sponsor who is not related to her--one who is not "moved" by any emotional attachment to her, but rather is solely focused on Lohan succeeding at facing her drug and alcohol dependencies.
With tears standing in her eyes, Lohan acknowledged all that Schwartz presented to her, and court was dismissed until March 10th.
