NEWSLindsay Lohan May Avoid Jail Time At Good Friday Hearing
April 22 2011, Published 4:52 a.m. ET
Lindsay Lohan will be spending Good Friday in court. The 24-year-old starlet has a preliminary hearing today to determine if there is sufficient evidence to put her on trial for felony grand theft of a $2,500 necklace.
TMZ reports that Lindsay may be able to avoid trial under the California Penal Code, Section 17(b).
"Under the law, the judge has the ability to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor at the end of a preliminary hearing if the offense is relatively minor and the defendant is not a hardened criminal with a long record," according to the report.
Courthouse sources tell TMZ that the judge presiding over Lindsay's case, Stephanie Sautner, has "routinely exercised this power."
Lindsay does have a record — DUI convictions which landed her in the slammer followed by a stay in rehab — but she is not considered a serious criminal.
LiLo's lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, will have to ask the judge after today's preliminary testimony —"Your honor, I move that you reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(B)."
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If the judge agrees, Lindsay will avoid jail time and her charge will be knocked down to a probation violation.
Lindsay was arraigned in February on one felony grand theft charge after she was accused of stealing a necklace from Kamofie and Co., a Venice, Calif., jewelry store, Jan. 22.
