Lohan faces 7 charges

By SANDY COHEN

AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanors Thursday stemming from two drunken-driving arrests, avoiding more serious felony drug charges because tests showed there wasn’t enough cocaine on her to warrant them.

The district attorney charged the 21-year-old actress with two counts each of driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and being under the influence of cocaine, along with 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 0.05 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 today, but a conference with a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in Beverly Hills was set for later Thursday. A disposition on the charges could be reached during the hearing, according to Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers.

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

Lohan’s legal problems come on the heels of two other high-profile celebrity DUI cases in Los Angeles that resulted in jail time. Paris Hilton served 23 days behind bars 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 stemming from a December DUI arrest.

Lohan’s publicist did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment about Thursday’s charges.