With few words, judge sends Lindsay Lohan back to jail with stern message and no early release

Lohan goes directly to jail after failed drug test

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — There were no tears, no last-minute pleading and no lecture from a judge warning Lindsay Lohan she was facing serious consequences for her latest misstep in a 3-year-old drug and drunken driving case.

Instead, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox on Friday sent a simple and stern message to the troubled actress — she was going to jail for nearly a month as promised for failing a drug test.

When Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley asked to argue that bail should be set, Fox’s reply was simple: “Nope.”

Bailiffs closed in and Lohan stood up. Her estranged father, Michael, said “Oh God,” as she was handcuffed and solemnly led from the courtroom.

Within moments Lohan was stripped of her designer high-heel shoes and jewelry and on her way to the county women’s jail, where she will be held in an isolation unit. Her mother, Dina, carried the items in a clear plastic bag from the courtroom after the hearing.

Lohan is due back in court on Oct. 22, when Fox will formally determine whether she violated her probation and will spell out her sentence. Unless the judge reconsiders or a Lohan successfully appeals, the actress will remain jailed until then.

“I think that the case law is clear that she is entitled to bail,” Holley said after the hearing.

Later Friday, Holley filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the judge’s order, Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said.

A copy of the filing, which challenges the court’s authority to hold Lohan without bail until the Oct. 22 hearing, was not immediately available.

Going into Friday’s hearing, the “Mean Girls” star’s fate was unclear after she failed a drug test roughly two weeks after her early release from rehab. A quick release seemed possible, and two bail bondsmen sat in the courtroom prepared to post bail as they have done twice already when the starlet violated terms of her probation.

But Fox, who in August paved a 67-day path to redemption involving rehab, counseling sessions and random drug tests, made good on his promise to send Lohan to jail if she erred.

He didn’t say during the hearing what drug caused Lohan, 24, to fail the drug screen, saying only that she tested positive for a “controlled substance.”

Also unclear are Lohan’s career prospects after her latest straying from terms of her probation. She has been slated to star as Linda Lovelace in a biopic about the porn star, but the production schedule already was altered when Lohan was sent to jail in July.

Matthew Wilder, the writer-director of the film titled “Inferno,” said in an e-mail that the film’s producers “want her to do well.” He did not address whether Lohan’s role would be recast or the film further delayed.

Lohan’s case has been a fixture at the Beverly Hills courthouse since May, when she missed a hearing to attend the Cannes Film Festival. She was jailed for 14 days after being found in violation of her probation for missing alcohol education classes and then spent 23 days in rehab.

“When you put the judge in a tight spot, he has no alternative,” said Barry Gerald Sands, a defense attorney who has represented celebrity clients in drug cases and was present in court Friday. “She will not get out now.”

Michael Nasatir, another defense attorney not handling Lohan’s case, said judges only send people to jail on misdemeanors without bail if they feel the person is likely to violate the terms of their probation.

“The judge must think there is no other answer,” Nasatir said.

Rehab remains a possibility for the actress, who seemed to acknowledge an addiction problem after news of her positive drug test broke last week.

“Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn’t go away over night,” Lohan posted on her Twitter feed last Friday. “This is certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I’m prepared to face the consequences.”

And her treatment won’t end just because she’s in jail.

Fox signed orders allowing a psychiatrist and professional addiction specialist to visit the actress throughout her incarceration.

Nasatir said Lohan could still make a comeback — he’s seen it with many of his clients. “Nobody’s a lost cause,” he said. “You can never tell when the light will come on.”

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.