IT was the court appearance that was never meant to be.

Lindsay Lohan was due on the bench yesterday to report on progress with her court-ordered driving classes but, alas, she never made it—she is still in Cannes, reportedly working on recovering a missing passport.

As the paparazzi and a handful of reporters waited in vain outside the Beverly Hills courthouse, the Los Angeles County judge issued a severe tongue-lashing and an arrest warrant for the 23-year-old actress.

Judge Marsha N. Revel said: “Actions speak louder than words. I’ve heard the best words in the world, but the actions are far more important.”

“She has a history of not keeping scheduled appointments,” she said.

Lindsay’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, explained to the judge that her client was stuck in Cannes, France because her passport had been stolen but that she had been issued a temporary one. Holley said she expects Lindsay to return today.

Judge Revel was quick to reply: “If she wanted to be here, it looks to the court that she could have been here. But right now that’s irrelevant. She was ordered to be here….There’s really no valid excuse.”

The final verdict? Authorities will likely arrest Lindsay when she arrives in Los Angeles or her attorney will have her surrender herself to authorities. But since then, officials have announced that Lindsay’s attorney had posted 10 per cent of her US$100,000 bail and that the arrest warrant had been recalled. Lindsay is now expected to appear in court on Monday.

The judge says she will recommend that new conditions be imposed on Lindsay’s probation, including that Lohan does not drink alcohol and wear a device to detect any alcohol in her system, and that she submit to random drug tests once a week. The drug testing may seem harsh, but the judge defended the decision, citing that her 2007 arrest also involved the use of cocaine.

Ouch!

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