Attorney expects Lohan will be cleared in NYC case

Prosecutors in Santa Monica charged Lohan with three misdemeanors related to a June accident. Hours earlier, the actress was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, also a misdemeanor, after a woman was punched in a New York City nightclub.

The California charges came about six months after Lohan's Porsche crashed into the back of a dump truck. She told police her assistant was driving, but detectives now believe the actress was behind the wheel as she headed to a movie set.

In that case, Lohan, 26, was charged with lying to police, reckless driving and obstructing a police officer from performing duties.

Lohan's California attorney, Shawn Holley, said she could not comment on the crash-related charges.

In New York, her attorney Mark Heller said he expects the assault charge to be dismissed.

"Once again, Lindsay Lohan is a victim of someone trying to capture their 15 minutes of fame," Heller wrote in a statement. "From my initial investigation, I am completely confident that this case will be concluded favorably and that Lindsay will be totally exonerated."

The California charges could trigger another probation violation for Lohan, who was ordered to stay out of trouble when she was released from supervised probation in March after being convicted of the misdemeanor theft of a necklace and two DUI charges.

Since then she has been arrested twice in New York, crashed her car on Pacific Coast Highway, been treated by paramedics in her hotel room, and gotten in an argument with her mother that prompted a 911 call.

None of the events are likely what the clearly relieved actress anticipated in March when she thanked Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner, who warned the actress that she could face up to 245 days in jail if she violated her probation again.

"You need to live your life in a more mature way, stop the nightclubbing and focus on your work," Sautner said.

In recent years, Lohan has been sentenced to the Los Angeles-area women's jail five times. Most of her stays have been short due to overcrowding, and she was allowed to serve 35 days on house arrest in 2011.