Lindsay Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanors Thursday stemming from two drunken-driving arrests, avoiding more serious felony drug charges because tests showed there wasn't enough cocaine on her to warrant them.
The district attorney charged the 21-year-old actress with two counts each of driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent and being under the influence of cocaine, along with one count of reckless driving.
Police found cocaine on Lohan during the arrests on May 26 in Beverly Hills and July 24 in Santa Monica. In each incident, the amounts tested were below the .05 grams required for felony charges, according to the district attorney's office.
Each of Lohan's arrests were followed by trips to rehab.
Lohan's arraignment was scheduled for Friday but a conference with a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in Beverly Hills was set for later Thursday. A disposition on the charges could be reached during the hearing, according to Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers.
The maximum penalty for a single misdemeanor DUI conviction in California is 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Conviction on a second DUI charge could draw a penalty of up to one year in jail.
Lohan's legal problems come on the heels of two other high-profile celebrity DUI cases in Los Angeles that resulted in jail time. Paris Hilton served 23 days behind bars after she was found guilty of driving on a suspended license while on probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving case. Nicole Richie was ordered to serve four days in jail stemming from a December DUI arrest.
Lohan's publicist did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment about Thursday's charges.
Lohan crashed her Mercedes Benz into a tree on Sunset Boulevard in May and fled the scene to seek medical treatment. Police tests revealed that a white powder found in Lohan's purse was .04 grams of cocaine.
Lohan checked into the posh Promises rehabilitation facility in Malibu after the incident. She left the facility July 13 after six weeks of treatment. She was photographed wearing an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after her release.
Lohan was arrested again on July 24 following a 911 call by Michelle Peck, the mother of Lohan's former personal assistant. Peck told police she was being chased by an SUV. Police later said Lohan was the driver.
Lohan's blood-alcohol level was between 0.12 and 0.13 percent when police found her, officials said. Police also found a white powder in her pocket that was determined to be .02 grams of cocaine.
After the incident, Lohan said in an e-mail to a host for the celebrity-news show "Access Hollywood" that she was "innocent" and the drugs found in her pocket during a pre-booking search were not hers.
She has reportedly been in a Sundance, Utah, rehab center in recent weeks.
A woman who was a passenger in Michelle Peck's vehicle sued the actress this month for assault and negligence.
Tracie Rice's suit seeks unspecified damages and payment of medical and other expenses related to emotional distress.
Lohan started 2007 in rehab at the Wonderland Center in Los Angeles.
"I was growing up and going out a lot, and I needed to have a balance," she told Elle magazine during an interview in May, just days before her first DUI arrest. "I was glad I went, because I needed to get away from everyone and I didn't know how to do that. And I learned a lot there."
Lohan's latest film, "I Know Who Killed Me," opened in July to lackluster response.
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