Despite the fact that her initial DUI arrest resulted in an automatic suspension of her driver’s license, Lohan was again caught driving under the influence in July 2007. This arrest occurred after another driver called police to report that Lohan was chasing her in an SUV. Lohan was booked for DUI, possession of cocaine and driving on a suspended or revoked license. Additionally, Lohan was cited for Reckless Driving, which occurs when a person drives a vehicle in “willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” Lohan’s BAC results were .12/.13, or about one and a half times the legal limit.

Ultimately, Lohan pled guilty or no contest to two counts of DUI, two counts of misdemeanor drug possession and one count of reckless driving. She was ordered to spend one day in jail, perform 10 days of community service and attend alcohol education classes. Lohan was placed on three years of probation.

At first glance, it might appear that Lohan got off pretty easy with what amounted to 84 minutes in jail and some much-needed drug and alcohol treatment. But probation has proven for Lohan to be no easy task. In fact, probation for many people is what turns out to be the most challenging term of the criminal sentence.

In California a person can be sentenced to three years of probation for a first time DUI offense and five years of probation for a second DUI. There are two types of probation, supervised and unsupervised. Supervised probation requires the offender to check in with a probation officer on a regular basis, which could be once a month, once a week or once a day, and to do whatever the probation officer and tells him or her to do, such as attend counseling or submit to random drug tests. Informal probation, or summary probation, requires the offender to complete certain terms of a sentence and to stay out of trouble. A person who is accused of violating probation may be ordered to attend court for a probation violation hearing. If the court finds that it is more likely than not that the person violated probation, the court may impose penalties as severe as those for the underlying DUI offense, including jail time.

This is exactly what happened in Lohan’s case. After failing to complete her alcohol education classes in the specified time, the court extended her three-year probation term an additional year in October of 2009. However, she continued to violate the terms of her probation by not completing the required classes. In May of 2010, Lohan failed to show up at a probation hearing and was ordered to appear and answer to a probation violation charge. On July 6, 2010, Lohan was found to have violated the terms of her probation and was sentenced to 90 days jail. Lohan did not serve the full 90 day sentence due to jail overcrowding issues, however, she did serve 14 days, which is significantly longer than her original sentence. Lohan is on supervised probation until November of 2010, and will then be on unsupervised probation until August of 2011. That is, of course, unless she gives the court another reason to extend her probation one more year.

Obviously, the goal is not to put oneself in the position of getting a DUI in the first place. But if it does happen, every effort must be made to complete the sentence imposed. As seen with the Lohan’s repeated court visits, if you do not take your DUI seriously, probation is there to make sure you will.