The judge who put Lindsay Lohan in jail has walked away from the case for talking too much.
Judge Marsha Revel, who sentenced the actress to 90 days in jail for probation violations on July 5, has recused herself from the case after rumblings from the D.A.’s office over what they saw as a number of inappropriate meetings between the Superior Court judge, Lohan attorneys and treatment-center officials.
Revel will be replaced by Judge Elden Fox, Superior Court spokesperson Allan Parachini said. (D.A. spokesperson Sandi Gibbons said the office had no comment on the matter, and Holley’s office did not immediately return TheWrap’s requests for comment.)
According to the Los Angeles Times, Deputy D.A. Danette Meyers, who prosecuted the Lohan case, brought her concerns to both Revel and Shawn Chapman Holley, the actress’ primary defense attorney.
After a tense conference call between the three late last week, the judge took herself off the case — before the D.A.'s office filed any paperwork to force her to do so, an individual close to the case told TheWarp.
The D.A.'s office felt that Revel was getting too personally involved with where Lohan would enter rehab after her jail term was over and was concerned that the D.A.'s office was not present at these meetings, the individual said.
Lohan, who is one week into a 90-day stint in rehab at UCLA Medical Center, will have to face Judge Fox — who is up for re-election this year — later this fall for a progress hearing on her jail stint, her treatment program and the further terms of her penalty — all originally stemming from two 2007 DUI incidents.
In early July, after missed court dates and treatment programs sessions, an obviously annoyed and frustrated Revel seemingly ran out of patience with the actress. The judge gave Lohan 30 days for her May 26, 2007, DUI, then 30 days for her July 24, 2007, DUI and anther 30 days for the car chase across Los Angeles that accompanied the latter incident, in which cocaine was also found to be in the actress’ possession.
Like many L.A.-area judges, Fox is no stranger to celebrity cases — he presided over Winona Ryer's shoplifting trial back in 2003, as well as a civil lawsuit filed against Lohan herself in conjunction with her July 2007 DUI.
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