Was Lohan’s courtroom attire appropriate? Weigh in!

Video: Lohan’s real problem may be probation violation

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2. Transcript of: Lohan’s real problem may be probation violation

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   MATT LAUER, co-host: And we begin this half-hour with Lindsay Lohan , free on bond after pleading not guilty to a felony grand theft charge on Wednesday. NBC 's Kristen Welker is outside the courthouse with the latest. Kristen , good morning to you.

   KRISTEN WELKER reporting: Good morning to you, Matt. Lindsay Lohan arrived early for court with no family members by her side. She seemed relaxed, even chatty before the proceedings began. But then the judge arrived and made it clear one more slip and he won't hesitate to put her back in jail.

   Judge KEITH SCHWARTZ: All right, Miss Lohan , let me...

   WELKER: Harsh words for actress Lindsay Lohan .

   Judge SCHWARTZ: I'm trying to put this as polite as possible. You're in a different situation now that a felony has been filed against you.

   WELKER: Wednesday, Lohan was charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing this $2500 necklace, which she was photographed wearing a few weeks ago. Lohan pleaded not guilty and posted bail, but Judge Keith Schwartz warned her.

   Judge SCHWARTZ: If you violate the law, I will remand you and set no bail. So what I'm telling you is you need to follow the laws just like everybody else. Do you understand what I'm telling you?

   Ms. LINDSAY LOHAN: Yes, sir.

   WELKER: The actress didn't say much more, but she did seem to react when the prosecution made a request that the judge agreed to, that Lohan stay away from the jewelry store where the alleged theft occurred.

   Ms. DANETTE MYERS (Prosecutor): The store received some flowers, which caused the victim in this case to be somewhat alarmed. So I would ask the court that she stay away from the victims at this point in time.

   WELKER: Like past court appearances, Lohan was flanked by media as she arrived, but this time she donned sunglasses and a striking white dress that had people wondering if her outfit was appropriate.

   Mr. MARK GERAGOS (Defense Attorney): The cut might have been a little much. But it didn't have any effect. I tend to counsel my clients, go to court or dress for court like you're going to church or temple.

   WELKER: Veteran defense attorney Mark Geragos defended Winona Ryder when she was convicted of shoplifting in 2002 . Ryder got probation and community service. Lohan 's case carries a possible three-year prison sentence, but Geragos says that's unlikely.

   Mr. GERAGOS: My guess would be that they're going to come to some court -- some sort of a plea deal. I do not see state prison.

   WELKER: But the actress has other problems. Prosecutors in Riverside County are still investigating after Lohan allegedly assaulted an employee at the Betty Ford clinic where she was a patient. Lohan denies the claim.

   Dr. CHARLES SOPHY: It could be impulse control issues for her. It could be a lot of things that are driving those behaviors.

   WELKER: Psychiatrist Dr . Charles Sophy , who has not treated Lohan , says even though the actress has spent time in rehab, it seems she is not getting the kind of counseling she needs.

   Dr. SOPHY: There are going to be slips and there's going to be mistakes and that kind of stuff, but nonetheless, that whole treatment plan needs to be looked at.

   WELKER: For now, treatment is coming from a stern reality check administered by a Superior Court judge.

   Judge SCHWARTZ: Look around this room. Everyone in this room has to follow the law. You're no different than anyone else. So please don't push your luck.

   WELKER: Now the judge also revoked Lohan 's probation, which stems back to a 2007 DUI arrest. He set bail at $40,000 and her next court date will be in

   two weeks. Matt: All right, Kristen Welker in Los Angeles this morning. Kristen , as always, thanks very much. We're joined now by Mark Geragos . Mark , good morning to you.

   LAUER: Good morning, Matt. How are you?

   Mr. GERAGOS: I'm doing well, thank you. So you counsel your clients when they're going to court , they should dress like they're going to church or temple. I'm guessing neither of us has seen a dress like that in church or temple. Would you have stopped her?

   LAUER: I have -- well, I don't know what I could have done to stop it if she showed up there. I generally don't ride with them from their house. But luckily for her, she's in a courtroom with a judge, Judge Schwartz , who is not going to hold that against her. And, you know, unfortunately or -- maybe it's my own problem, but 80 percent of the people who come to court generally are dressed inappropriately anyway. So it's certainly not something new.

   Mr. GERAGOS: No, but you mentioned this judge and the fact that he won't hold this against her. I mean, effect, I mean, justice is supposed to be blind to that anyway, correct?

   LAUER: That's correct. And while that is the case in this courtroom, I can tell you that in the decades that I've been practicing and in some of the courts I've been practicing, that's not always the case.

   Mr. GERAGOS: Mark , you know, it's funny, I've heard people on both sides of the coin in this discussion saying on the one hand, they think Lindsay Lohan is being treated better because of who she is and other people saying they think she's being treated differently, perhaps even more harshly because of who she. Do you see a different level of treatment?

   LAUER: I would say in the past, I think she's been treated more harshly. Yesterday, what happened, the setting of the bail, the amount of the bail, which was the bail schedule , getting a lecture from Judge Schwartz , that -- she was treated exactly like anybody else in her position would have been.

   Mr. GERAGOS: Reasonable doubt, that is what the defense needs here to get her off these charges. If this misunderstanding can be brought into the courtroom, if, for example, a stylist walks in and says, 'Yeah, I thought I was borrowing on that -- that on behalf of Lindsay Lohan .' Is she out of -- in the clear?

   LAUER: Yeah, this is the problem she has. For the new case, the grand theft , it's reasonable doubt. So that's a tough standard for somebody to get a conviction on on her. The problem she's got is this probation violation because that is not, it's not the same standard, it's a lower burden of proof, you don't get a jury, it's the judge's decision. That's what 's going to drive this and that's why I suspect there's going to be a plea deal here because she could win the new case and still lose the probation violation .

   Mr. GERAGOS: You know, something in Kristen Welker 's report kind of caught my attention, this idea that the judge told her to stay away from the jewelry store where this necklace came from because, well, according to reports, that jewelry store received some flowers, perhaps on behalf of Lindsay Lohan . We don't know that for sure. Is that simply inappropriate or is that illegal?

   LAUER: Well, sending the flowers, if she had done it, is not illegal unless she did it now after the protective order was issued. But issuing the protective order is certainly not something unusual. Prosecutors ask for that every day in millions of cases.

   Mr. GERAGOS: Yeah, it's my understanding the flowers arrived at about the same time the police investigation was beginning. So I guess some people might try to draw conclusions based on the timing.

   LAUER: Well, I -- you know, in some ways, sending them flowers or writing them a check, there's not much difference. If you've got a situation where somebody is accused of a theft, a lot of times -- and you think it's a misunderstanding, there are mechanisms by which you can try to satisfy that civilly, not criminally. You can't do it where there's a felony charge, but if there's a misdemeanor charge, you can do what's called a civil compromise. So if you want to send flowers or say, 'Hey, this was a misunderstanding,' there's no -- I don't see any harm in that.

   Mr. GERAGOS: Mark Geragos , always interesting to hear from you, Mark . Thanks for your time this morning.

   LAUER: Thanks, Matt.

   Mr. GERAGOS:

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