LiLo's lawyer quits, says sentence 'unfair'

LOS ANGELES -- Lindsay Lohan will be going to jail without one of her biggest advocates -- her attorney.

The actress' attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, resigned from the case shortly after releasing a statement Thursday calling a judge's 90-day jail sentence for Lohan "harsh and unfair."

No reason for her withdrawal from the high-profile case was given, and her replacement has not been announced.

A representative for the seasoned defence attorney, who fought to keep the Mean Girls star out of jail during a daylong hearing Tuesday, said her earlier remarks about Lohan's sentence remained valid.

"Ms. Lohan and I are extremely disappointed in the sentence handed down by Judge (Marsha) Revel," Holley's statement had read.

"We believe that the penalty is far harsher than what others would have received under similar circumstances.

"The reality is that Ms. Lohan, like most defendants, had to balance work commitments with court requirements. To be punished so severely for doing so, particularly in light of the fact that she substantially complied with each of her probationary conditions, is harsh and unfair," it said.

Holley said Lohan would serve her sentence, which because of overcrowding and budget cuts is likely to be much shorter than the three months ordered by the judge.

The attorney also said the 24-year-old actress would comply with the other terms of her sentence, which include a three-month stay in rehab and reporting to a probation officer for drug and alcohol testing.

Revel determined Lohan violated her probation on a 2007 drug and drunk driving case by missing seven alcohol education classes since December, when the judge ordered her to attend weekly sessions.

Holley first appeared in court March 2009 when the actress got in trouble with her former alcohol education program. The judge reinstated Lohan's probation after Holley cleared up what she called a misunderstanding.

The attorney, who was a member of O.J. Simpson's famed defence team, successfully kept Lohan out of trouble, even after her alcohol-education program reported problems with the star last year.

On Tuesday, Holley placed her arm around Lohan as she burst into tears while pleading for leniency and apologizing to the judge.

Thursday's statement was Holley's first public comment on the ruling. Neither she nor Lohan spoke to reporters after Tuesday's sentencing.

Lohan pleaded guilty in August 2007 to two misdemeanour counts of being under the influence of cocaine; no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 per cent and one count of reckless driving. She was sentenced to three years of probation.

The plea came after a pair of high-profile arrests earlier that year.

She has struggled with the terms of her probation since then, which culminated in the judge revoking her probation in May and forcing her to wear an alcohol ankle monitor.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 10, 2010 C7