Judge orders Lindsay Lohan to stop partying while under house arrest

Angry with paparazzi photos that appear to show Lindsay Lohan partying on the rooftop of her beachfront Venice home, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner told the actress she can no longer entertain more than one guest at a time while under house arrest.

Lohan was in court Thursday after a probation report said she had failed a June 13 alcohol test, but Sautner ruled that a failed alcohol test did not violate her probation and that the testing requirement had ended months earlier.

The actress is serving a home detention stint following her conviction for shoplifting a gold and diamond necklace. The theft conviction came as Lohan was on probation in a driving-under-the-influence case.

Legal experts said that although the actress, due to film a movie about gangster John Gotti, may have dodged jail again, a second positive test for alcohol since her treatment at the Betty Ford Center last year will make it harder for producers of future films to insure her.

“Most production companies are going to have trouble getting insurance for her. She is unpredictable; her insurance rates are very high,” said attorney Dmitry Gorin, who represents Hollywood clients.

Sautner appeared angered with Lohan’s behavior, saying she was guilty of “extremely poor judgment.”

The partying was so evident that Lohan’s neighbors had complained to Los Angeles County supervisors, the judge said. “If you are in jail, you are not allowed to have parties. House arrest should be akin to jail,” Sautner said.

“I have no ground for modifying your probation. Don’t give me grounds. Do you want to get on with your life?” she asked the actress.

“Yes, I do,” replied Lohan.

The judge snapped back: Then “don’t do stupid things that give people a reason to hate you.... Don’t do stupid things that fly in the face of the spirit of the court’s order. You knew I sentenced you to jail. You knew I was unhappy with house arrest.”

Sautner said Lohan will be permitted to have only one house guest at a time except for family visitors and business associates.

Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Holley, said Lohan did not do anything wrong because the alcohol test was not a condition of probation. “Alcohol is a legal substance. She is permitted to drink alcohol,” Holley said outside court.

Holley, who would not confirm that the actress drank alcohol, said Lohan did cancel a scheduled interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer recently because of concerns related to the alcohol-test investigation.

Lohan is serving a 35-day house detention that began May 26. Just four days after the detention began, probation officials noted that Lohan’s monitoring equipment was damaged by friends spilling a drink on it.

Following the court appearance, Lohan took to Twitter. “Thank you to all of my fans for your support. Sending you Love and Light,” Lohan wrote.

richard.winton@latimes.com