Lindsay Lohan checks into rehab facility
LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan has checked into a rehab facility to comply with her sentence in a misdemeanor driving case, but her arrival there was not without drama.
A prosecutor said during a hearing Thursday that he has not approved the Southern California rehab where Lohan is expecting to remain for the next 90 days. The facility was not investigated or approved by prosecutors, and Lohan’s attorney, Mark Jay Heller, had to argue that the actress be allowed to stay in treatment until a judge approves her placement.
“My client is ensconced in the bosom of that facility right now,” Heller argued after a prosecutor objected to Lohan’s choice of rehab facilities. “She’s in rehab right now. Nothing bad is going to happen.”
Heller presented Superior Court Judge James R. Dabney a letter from the CEO of Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, Calif., showing that the facility complied with a court order to keep Lohan on lockdown for 90 days.
Dabney said Lohan should remain at the center until Santa Monica Chief Deputy City Attorney Terry White has time to conduct his investigation. White said he was “completely blindsided” by Lohan’s placement at Morningside because Heller had previously agreed to send the actress to a different facility that had been vetted.
Dabney said based on a letter from Morningside, it appeared to meet the requirements of Lohan’s sentence in a case filed after the actress crashed her car in June while on the way to a film shoot.
White said he had concerns about Morningside, and if it didn’t meet his standards, he would recommend that the judge move Lohan into a different rehab and she start her treatment over. He was ordered to report to the judge whether he approved of the facility by May 10.
Heller urged Dabney to approve Lohan’s treatment plan on Thursday, but the judge refused.
Lohan pleaded no contest in March to reckless driving and lying to police who were investigating the June accident involving the actress along the Pacific Coast Highway.
The “Liz & Dick” star also was found in violation of her probation in a 2011 necklace theft and sentenced to 180 days behind bars, but her jail term can be avoided if she complies with the full terms of her sentence, which include community labor and 18 months of psychological therapy.
