Nicole Richie Is Not Going to Jail

As we've already informed you, Nicole Richie's representative, Shawn Chapman Holley, filed a motion yesterday asking that his client's trial be postponed. The reason for such a request is that the expert defense witness is out of the country and he is not coming back until early next month. We're talking about Dr. Terence Sean McGee, who is a drug expert, and who is expected to challenge the validity of the drug test that Nicole took right after she was busted last year.

For those of you who are on the run, here's the short version: last December Nicole smoked some pot and took a Vicodin pill before she took her black SUV for a spin. But she decided to drive on the wrong side of the road on a California freeway, so she was pulled over by the cops and charged with DUI.

Now that happened more than 6 months ago, and the trial is still not under way. Why is that? Simple: Nicole postponed it time and time again. She did that last month and judge Lubell stated that it was the last time he would grant Nicole a continuance in the case. Seems he spoke too soon. So what could be so important as to postpone the trial yet again?

Well, Dr. McGee is going to testify about "the unreliability of urine tests as an indicator of impairment". In plain English, one of the main ingredients found in the Vicodin pills is hydrocodone, which can only be detected in urine for a certain amount of time after its ingestion. McGee is going to argue that the police test could not find hydrocodone in her urine because too much time had passed. Basically he's going to claim that the drug test results are fake.

Like I already mentioned, judge Lubell stated that he would not grant Nicole Richie any favors, and yet he did. But this time there is a catch: although her misdemeanor charges do not require her to attend the court hearings, Nicole is now obligated to be present in court on August 16.

If found guilty, Nicole could spend a minimum of five days in jail. However, she could also spend a maximum of a year behind bars, due to a prior DUI conviction back in 2003.