Lohan Lawyer Out at Crucial Time?

(CBS)  Drama, tension and confusion could take center stage at a court session today before Lindsay Lohan's scheduled start of a 90-day jail term.

Celebrity website TMZ.com reports high-profile attorney Robert Shapiro - who'd only just signed on as her lawyer - has abruptly quit.

Shapiro - of OJ Simpson case fame - is said to have told the court he won't be representing her when she turns herself in today to start serving her sentence for violating her DUI probation.

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"Having someone like Robert Shapiro in your corner one day, and no longer in your corner the next, is clearly a big surprise, and something must be going on with Lindsay," observes CBS News legal analyst Trent Copeland.

Lohan has spent her last days as a free woman at a sober house in West Hollywood, surrounded by paparazzi as her mother, Dina, and others visited over the weekend, reports CBS News Correspondent Ben Tracy -- just the kind of spectacle the judge is trying to avoid.

The judge will, says Tracy, order cameras turned off in the courtroom before Lohan is cuffed and hauled out to a correctional facility just south of downtown Los Angeles. The jail is now ready for her arrival. Lohan is expected to spend up to 22 hours each day alone in her cell.

"For Lindsay," says InTouch Weekly Senior Editor Kim Serafin, "who's so used to having so many people around her, who's so used to having access to a Twitter account where she can put out a message about her dad, her life, the judge or her nails, whatever it is, it's going to be really difficult."

After Lohan was arrested for her DUI in 2007, she spent 87 minutes in the same jail.

This stay will be longer but, notes Tracy, she will likely serve just a fraction of her 90 day sentence due to overcrowding.

And speculation about her first post-jail interview is already heating up. Some say the actress could get paid $1 million dollars to talk.

"People will definitely want to hear about her experience, and we know she does like publicity!" says Serafin.

But will doing hard time change her mind? Time will tell, Tracy says.

On "The Early Show" Tuesday, attorney Tom Mesereau, who's represented Michael Jackson and Robert Blake, called Shapiro's late entry into and quick, last-minute exit from the Lohan case a publicity stunt by Shapiro:

[johnverse68]

all you fools making poor comments against lindsday are probably the ones who are probably sponging up obama;s unemployment and the same fools who say nothing when killers get freed by lousy juries like the ex football player and ex movie actor from a cop show so keep your dumb comments to yourself please, there is plenty of hope left for linsday and i want to hear her exclusive interview if she gives one

[debbie1120]

That is what you get for hanging with Paris. Take your punishment little girl.

[jeannettelj]

The smartest thing that he has ever done.

[hologram5]

All the who's in whoville cried boo hoo hoo...

[bobnjersey]

[Lohan is expected to spend up to 22 hours each day alone in her cell.
"For Lindsay," says InTouch Weekly Senior Editor Kim Serafin, "who's so used to having so many people around her, who's so used to having access to a Twitter account where she can put out a message about her dad, her life, the judge or her nails, whatever it is, it's going to be really difficult." ]

get a couple of good books ... forget about all the 'hangers on' and mindless blabbering about your life's minutia that means nothing ... and connect to something that isn't so centered on yourself. maybe you'll find a better direction in your life ... and help pass the time too.

sometimes what seems like a bad thing ... can be turned around and used as a good thing.

[goirish1974]

Excellent post.

[dontknowitall]

Says,Ben Tracy,But will doing hard time change her mind? Hard time? Not even close. If they keep her on suicide watch she'll have a baby sitter to keep her company 24-7.

[DaVicar8]

"Drama, tension and confusion"???

Try this out for size, Lil' Miss Movie Star -

Go to Jail, Go Directly to Jail, Do Not pass Go, Do Not Collect $200.00

Even a 6-year-old can understand that.

[formrusmcsgt]

And speculation about her first post-jail interview is already heating up. Some say the actress could get paid $1 million dollars to talk.
-----
Astounding.

Be a total piece of crap as a person and get a million to talk about it.

[longtree-2009]

she won't serve all of the 90 days. probably only 3 weeks or so, if that. she is sort of a loser in so many ways or so it seems. but the general public seem to love her, go figure.

[lilbear925]

This witless b**ch has been "out at a crucial time" since all this began. She feels no responsibility about any of her actions. She has absolutely no remorse for breaking the law, much less for getting caught. She has missed multiple court dates, sending money instead of showing up. 90 days in jail is merely a slap on the wrist for what she had been able to get away with. Who cares what she thinks?