Court charges Lindsay Lohan with seven misdemeanors in drunken-driving cases

Lindsay Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanors in relation to two drunken-driving arrests.

Photo: Court charges Lindsay Lohan with seven misdemeanors in drunken-driving cases

Prosecutors charged the 21-year-old actress with two counts each of driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent and being under the influence of cocaine and one count of reckless driving.

Police found cocaine on Lohan during the arrests on May 26 in Beverly Hills and July 24 in Santa Monica. In each incident, the amounts tested were below the .05 grams required for felony charges, according to the district attorney's office.

Each of Lohan's arrests were followed by trips to rehab.

Lohan's arraignment was scheduled for Friday, but a conference with a Los Angeles Superior Court judge was set for later Thursday.

Lohan's publicist did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

The maximum penalty for a single misdemeanor DUI conviction in California is 6 months in jail and a $1,000 (737.4 EUR) fine. Conviction on a second DUI charge could draw a penalty of up to one year in jail.

Lohan's legal problems come shortly after two other high-profile celebrity DUI cases. Paris Hilton served 23 days in jail after she was found guilty of driving on a suspended license while on probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving case. Nicole Richie was ordered to serve four days in jail after a December DUI arrest.

Lohan crashed her Mercedes Benz into a tree on Sunset Boulevard in May and fled the scene to seek medical treatment. Police tests revealed that a white powder in Lohan's purse was .04 grams of cocaine.

Lohan checked into the posh Promises rehabilitation facility after the incident. She left the facility July 13 after six weeks of treatment. She was photographed wearing an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after her release.

Lohan was arrested again July 24 following an emergency call by Michelle Peck, the mother of Lohan's former personal assistant. Peck told police she was being chased by an SUV. Police later said Lohan was the driver.

Lohan's blood-alcohol level was between 0.12 and 0.13 percent, officials said. Police also found a white powder in her pocket that was determined to be .02 grams of cocaine.

After the incident, Lohan said in an e-mail to a host for celebrity news show "Access Hollywood" that she was innocent and the drugs found in her pocket were not hers.

She has reportedly been in a Utah rehab center in recent weeks.

A woman who was a passenger in Michelle Peck's vehicle sued the actress this month for assault and negligence.

Tracie Rice's suit seeks unspecified damages and payment of medical and other expenses related to emotional distress.

Lohan started 2007 in rehab in Los Angeles.

"I was growing up and going out a lot, and I needed to have a balance," she told Elle magazine during an interview in May, just days before her first DUI arrest. "I was glad I went, because I needed to get away from everyone and I didn't know how to do that. And I learned a lot there."

Lohan's latest film, "I Know Who Killed Me," opened in July to lackluster response.