With all eyes on the Dr. Conrad Murray trial, it might have been easy to overlook another individual who'll be facing a judge in another courtroom this week.
Yep, while it seems like just yesterday when she last paid a visit to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Lindsay Lohan has another date with Judge Stephanie Sautner on Wednesday, and it would appear that, to quote Ricky Ricardo, she's got some 'splainin' to do.
Considering the whole point of Lohan's day in court is a progress hearing to determine if she has violated terms of her probation, Judge Sautner could have very good reason to be concerned.
For starters, there have been reports that, as of earlier this month, Lohan had completed just 21 hours of the 360 hours of community service that she was court-ordered to perform at a downtown women's centre.
And those times she did bother to show up, she didn't stay the mandated four hours, which resulted in her being transferred to the American Red Cross instead.
The judge may also be curious as to why LiLo has yet to show up, period, at the L.A. County Coroner's office, where she has until April to complete an additional 120 hours of janitorial duties.
And she might also like to know why Lohan hasn't been meeting with a psychiatrist each Monday, as was also ordered by the court.
Lohan will likely explain that those shrink sessions were conducted by phone, instead.
But here's the thing: Should the judge find Lindsay in violation of her parole and, over in another L.A. courtroom, should Dr. Conrad Murray be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, who do you think could end up with the most jail time?
Want a clue? Their name doesn't rhyme with jury.
In a twist of legal logistics, there's one scenario that would see Lindsay landing back in the slammer while Michael Jackson's doctor would only be subject to house arrest.
As a result of chronic overcrowding in California prisons, criminals charged with what are considered lower-level offenses could instead serve their time in county jails, which are facing their own space issues.
The maximum four-year sentence that would come with an involuntary manslaughter conviction could conceivably be reduced to a single year, which, if ordered by the L.A. County Sheriff, could take the form of monitored house arrest.
Because that whole house arrest thing didn't exactly work wonders with Lohan (rooftop BBQ parties, anyone?), Judge Sautner could very well tell the SCRAM bracelet to scram and instead sentence her to over a year in jail.
Even if reduced due to overcrowding, that sentence could result in a significantly longer time behind bars than Lindsay's served previously.
As if cramming for an exam, Lohan's been stepping up her Red Cross duties in recent weeks, but, if Judge Sautner views it as a case of too little, too late, jail time could cut into Lindsay's future party plans.
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