Judge lets Lohan enter rehab in Newport Beach; prosecutor upset

Lindsay Lohan will be allowed to remain in a Newport Beach rehab facility -- which she entered Thursday morning -- for 90 days as part of her sentence for lying to police.

But the judge in the case also will allow a Santa Monica city prosecutor to evaluate the center and voice any objection if he feels it is warranted.

On Thursday, Lohan checked into Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach instead of a New York facility that the prosecutor had understood to be the facility discussed with her lawyers about. The New York facility had a policy of “no gate passes,” meaning Lohan could stay without leaving for 90 days.

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Prosecutor Terry White objected to the last-minute change, saying he was not allowed to check out the facility to see if it complied with the terms of the sentencing.

“This is highly improper,” White protested to Judge James Dabney, noting he learned from the media that Lohan has chosen the Newport Beach facility.

Lohan’s attorney, Mark Heller, however, said the facility fully complies with Dabney’s sentencing requirement that the actress serve 90 days in a drug rehabilitation facility and that she cannot leave the facility. He said there would be no passes of any kind that allow her to leave the grounds.

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Dabney cautioned that the program must “fall within the parameters of the plea agreement.” He directed that the city prosecutor be allowed to check out the program for such compliance.

“I don’t have any problems with Ms. Lohan remaining in the program until this issue is resolved. If we decide the program doesn’t measure up to the plea agreement she will have to move to a different program,” Dabney said. The judge, after briefly reviewing materials from the facility, said on its face “it appears it does.”

The judge asked prosecutors to inform him by next Friday whether they want a hearing to challenge the facility’s compliance with the plea agreement.

In sentencing Lohan, Dabney said the facility did not have to be locked, but he made it clear she would violate her probation if she left at any time.

The actress’ father, Michael Lohan, told CNN that she boarded a flight to Los Angeles late Wednesday to sort out where she will get her treatment.

“Lindsay had no idea that Morningside wasn’t approved,” Michael Lohan told CNN. “It’s not her fault. This poor kid was a mess before she left.”

The “Mean Girls” star avoided jail in a last-minute deal by pleading no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving and providing false information to police. A charge of willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer was dismissed. In addition to spending 90 days in rehab, she must also spend 18 months in psychotherapy and serve 30 days of community service.

In pleading no contest, Lohan admitted she had violated her probation in a 2011 shoplifting case.

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richard.winton@latimes.com