I read that Lindsay Lohan was shocked to be sentenced to jail for 90 days for violating her terms of DUI probation for failure to attend weekly alcohol education classes.  She had nine absences.  Her defense attorney argued that Lohan had complied with most of the court’s orders.  MOST?? Having worked for criminal defense attorneys for 22 years, on many DUI cases, I can imagine her attorney’s embarrassment at having to make the feeble statement that her client had complied with most of the court’s orders. Lohan feigning surprise at the sentence was a good act.  Her attorney let her know from the beginning what to expect.  Especially if she violated probation.  The attorney let her know in no uncertain terms that she could expect to be sentenced to jail if she did not complete the classes on time.

How hard is it to take responsibility and do what you need to do to set things straight?  If you blow it off, then be prepared to take the consequences.

I wrote at DUI, DWLS, Probation, PCP and False Positives that a long time friend was on probation for DUI and when she went for her court appointed random drug test, she tested positive for PCP, which she does not do.  Long story short, it was a false positive test at Prevent of Brevard, where false positives seem to have been a frequent occurrence.  I told her to never go to that lab again – period.

Four months later, she wanted to avoid a 5 hour bus trip to an accurate lab 20 miles away, so she again went to Prevent of Brevard and again Domino attracts another false positive for PCP.  She knew the risk, yet she chose to act, despite the consequences.  I told her in no uncertain terms that if she did ANYTHING that – whether a mistake or not – could get her charged with a violation of her probation, she could be caught in the court and jail system for years.

Granted, Domino is not real smart.  She’s also not typically a drinker and may have 6-8 glasses of wine a year.  But the point is she was pulled over for DUI on one of those nights.  I told her to not drive for any reason after that, that even once could get her charged with driving while licensed suspended.  A DWLS would be a violation of her probation, and a VOP would get her tossed in jail so fast her head would spin.

Despite me telling her this – every day – within a week she drove to the laundromat and slow driving got her stopped again.  She was given a ticket for DWLS.  She knew the consequences, yet each time her desire to do what she wanted to do caused her to bring a world of hurt down on herself.

Hers can turn into a horror story if she doesn’t get a grip.  Her problem is now that she’s not driving, she’s isolated from friends and daily church classes and groups, so she’s becoming depressed.  She’s living with a roommate who feels imposed upon. She was laid off from her lifelong job two years ago and her job search is now at a halt since she can’t drive.  A round trip bus ride for her random drug test takes 5 hours.  She has to call each morning to see if she has to come in for a drug test that day.

Domino’s case is like so many other people.  One bad break and then it snowballs and everything starts falling like dominoes.  I’m talking about people with no close friends, no transportation, and often a debilitating mental condition to top it all off.

I’m not talking about the Lindsay Lohans of the world who just blow it off and can’t motivate themselves to do what must be done.  We’re stronger than that.  We can make a point to keep ourselves aware of what’s going on in our life and do whatever we need to do to keep ourselves housed, clothed and fed.

Doing the right thing isn’t hard when we know what’s right for us, and if we take time to consider the consequences.  And ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Andrea

RELATED: Domino attracts another false positive for PCP
DUI, DWLS, Probation, PCP and False Positives

Original story at Lindsay Lohan sentenced to jail for violation