Not guilty pleas entered for Lohan on misdemeanors

The Associated Press, Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 9:56am (PST)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three misdemeanor charges related to a car crash and was ordered to appear in court for a hearing later this month.

Her plea was entered by her attorney Shawn Holley, who declined to comment after the hearing. Lohan was not required to attend.

Superior Court Commissioner Jane Godfrey said the actress must appear at a Jan. 30 pretrial hearing.

Lohan is charged with lying to police, reckless driving and obstructing police from performing their duties.

Police suspect Lohan was driving her sports car when it slammed into a dump truck while she was on her way to the set of "Liz and Dick" in early June. Lohan told police she wasn't behind the wheel.

Lohan was on probation for a 2011 necklace theft case at the time and could face up to 245 days in jail if a judge determines she violated her probation.

Godfrey also set a Feb, 27 trial date on the misdemeanor counts.

The accident was not the only problem encountered by Lohan while shooting "Liz and Dick," a film based on the love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

She also was arrested in New York after an alleged fight with a woman, but a criminal complaint hasn't been drawn up. The district attorney's office there said last week that an inquiry was ongoing.

A week after the car accident, paramedics were summoned to Lohan's hotel room when she was late getting to the set. Her publicist at the time attributed her absence to fatigue and dehydration.

The film was expected to be a comeback opportunity for Lohan, who spent the past several years struggling with criminal court cases. Her performance, however, was panned by critics and fans.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP