Update: The LA Sheriff says Lindsay will be released after 13 or 14 days due to overcrowding and good time.

Lindsay Lohan surrendered at the Beverly Hills courthouse today to begin serving her 90 day jail sentence for probation violations. She was accompanied by her original lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley. Her parents were there as well.

A clearly upset LiLo sat and listened as Judge Revel ordered Lindsay's surrender. But before Lindsay was cuffed and taken away, the judge ordered all cameras to stop rolling.

Judge Revel made it clear -- no house arrest, and no early release. But that doesn't mean Lindsay will have to serve the full 90 days. The Sheriff's Department will use the 90 days to compute the actual time Lindsay will have to serve, and because of overcrowding, she will only serve 25% ... 23 days. Lindsay didn't cry. When she was cuffed she was stoic.

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In a setback for Joran Van der Sloot, Luz Marina Romero Chinchay, the mysterious attorney who appeared with him when he gave his confession, has surfaced after being sued by his current attorney (background on lawsuit here.)

In an interview to CNN's "In Session," she insists Joran retained her, promising payment from his mother, and that his confession was voluntary.

She also maintains Joran and she conversed in "perfect Spanish," and questions his truthfulness:

She also questioned the truthfulness of van der Sloot. For instance, when he signed some documents after talking to his mother, Romero noticed that he signed very differently than what he signed on the police statement, she said.

"I told him, 'you signed differently' and he winked his eye and made a silence signal with his hands," Romero said.

She denies she was working with the authorities, but doesn't say who arranged for her to meet Joran in the first place.

TMZ reports Robert Shapiro is no longer representing Lindsay Lohan. The reason has not yet surfaced.

As to who will represent her today when she has to turn herself in, why does she need a lawyer for that? Doesn't she just show up at the jail?

I never understood what legal function Shapiro was providing in the first place. He announced getting in the case he would only represent her if she did her jail time. What did she need him for if he wasn't going to either appeal or file a motion trying to get the judge to change or at least delay imposition of the sentence? [More...]

From news reports, Linsday Lohan sounds ready for jail tomorrow. In a tweet about her father, who is urging an appeal of her sentence, she writes: "I am in a great place and he only brings negativity in my world."

Where will she go? The media consensus seems to be Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, CA, where Paris Hilton served her sentence. Her 90 days, according to some sources, could be cut to 25% with good time or early release.

She is set to be housed in a 12-foot-by-8-foot cell in the 2,200-bed facility's special needs unit, where she would live in isolation for her own safety. Inmates must wear orange jumpsuits with no jewelry and are given a minimal set of toiletries. Lohan will be served her meals in her cell and will be allowed outside the 12-foot-by-8-foot space for at least an hour each day. She will not be allowed to use a computer or a cellphone.

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Actor Wesley Snipes lost his appeal of his 3 year sentence for tax crimes today. The 11th Circuit opinion is here. The factual part -- with Snipes arguments against filing returns for five years on more than $37 million of income, is interesting. (He was convicted for three of those years and the amount of taxes he owes is $17 million.)

Although Snipes earned more than thirty-seven million dollars in gross income from 1999 to 2004, he did not file individual federal income tax returns for any of those years.

Among the reasons he claimed he didn't have to pay taxes:

Snipes also claimed that as a “fiduciary of God, who is a ‘nontaxpayer,’” he was a “‘foreign diplomat’” who was not obliged to pay taxes.

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Attorney Robert Shapiro confirmed today he's now representing Lindsay Lohan. But, he says, he agreed to represent her only if she does her jail time and complies with her other probation terms, which includes a 3 month rehab stint after jail.

So what's Shapiro going to do for her?

Shapiro told The Associated Press on Friday he had agreed to represent Lohan only if she does her jail time and complies with the terms of her probation. He said he would help the actress get treatment to accomplish long-term recovery and sobriety.

"Ms. Lohan is suffering from a disease that I am all too familiar with," said Shapiro, whose son Brent died in 2005. "Hopefully I can be of assistance."

Sounds like he's going to be her drug counselor, not her lawyer. And how is this different than what Shawn Chapman Holley proposed? I can't imagine he's not going to try to at least postpone her jail sentence until she's out of her current rehab facility. If he's not, then why does she need a lawyer at this point at all?

Lindsay Lohan has a new attorney, former O.J. Simpson lawyer, Robert Shapiro. She has also checked into rehab. She's scheduled to report to jail in five days.

The rehab facility is Pickford Lofts, which was started by Shapiro. Shapiro's son Brent died of an overdose in 2005 and he also started "The Brent Shapiro Foundation" to raise drug awareness.

According to TMZ, Shapiro will try to convince Judge Marsha Revel either to eliminate or minimize her 90-day jail sentence, followed by 90 days in rehab.

I suggested the other day she may need to be weaned off the prescription drugs she is taking before she can safely do a jail sentence. Perhaps an emergency motion is in the works to at least delay the start of her prison sentence until she finishes rehab. If she does it successfully, maybe then the judge would be inclined to reduce or eliminate her jail sentence and let her continue with rehab.

The Swiss asked for the sealed transcripts of former district attorney in the Roman Polanski case. DOJ says it consulted with the LA District Attorney's office and denied the request. It was the denial that prevented the Swiss from getting to the heart of the issue: did the judge intend for Polanski only to serve 42 days? If so, then extradition isn't allowed under the treaty. The Swiss Statement denying extradition said:

The Swiss government said it had sought confidential testimony given Jan. 26 by Roger Gunson, the Los Angeles attorney in charge of the original prosecution against Polanski. The United States rejected the request.

The LA District Attorney's office told the judge in May the Swiss never made the request. Now they say they were never notified by DOJ that one had been made.

District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said Wednesday that Los Angeles prosecutors were never notified of the request. But the Justice Department said Thursday the Los Angeles District Attorney's office was fully informed and approved the denial.

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Lindsay Lohan has been lawyer shopping since her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, said she's done. The Judge reportedly told Shawn she can't withdraw until Lindsay gets a new lawyer.

This morning's news said Stuart Goldberg of Chicago had taken the case. Now, Goldberg has bowed out, giving this interview to People.

"My impression of Lindsay is that she's a fragile lost child – a sleeping beauty with her head in the sand. I found her not fully forewarned of the consequence of her actions," Stuart V. Goldberg, who was contacted by Lohan after her attorney resigned, tells PEOPLE.

"I'm concerned that she's not disciplined or tethered enough to the reality of adult consequences," he says. "She doesn't seem to have the awareness of what's going to befall her."

Goldberg makes a good point about her having multiple legal problems: one is the imminent jail sentence, the other is how is she going to get through a lengthier period of probation afterwards?

Roman Polanski has been freed. The Swiss have denied the extradition request.

The Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement that the decision reflected doubts over the legal strength of the U.S. extradition request, in particular concerning negotiations between Los Angeles prosecutors and Polanski's U.S. attorneys at the time. Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said at a news conference that Polanski is now free to leave Switzerland and return to his home in France.

The Swiss statement states the decision was based on the request itself and the refusal of the U.S. to provide sealed testimony regarding the alleged misconduct of the prosecution and Judge, and the Swiss national interest. [More....]

Juan Lazaro Jr., 17, and his half brother, Waldo Mariscal, 38,ara the sons of Journalist Vicky Pelaez and her husband, Juan Lazaro. Until two weeks ago, the family lived comfortably in Yonkers, MY, which is in Southern Westchester County, about 1/2 hour from Manhattan. Their parents are now in Russia. Vicky Pelaez is planning on leaving Russia for Peru, and ultimately Brazil.

Her son Juan, Jr. , at 17, is building a career as an accomplished pianist. He's got a shot at making it, according to his teachers.He wants to stay in NY and finish.

But, the Government has seized their home in Yonkers and they have no money. They have asked the Red Cross for help.

Lazarro fooled his wife and children. Ms. Pelaez's lawyer heard her ask her husband in court last week, "What was your real name?"

Yesterday I asked why Vicki Pelaez, a Peruvian-born journalist with U.S. citizenship would go along with the deal to return to Russia. Here's what appears to be the answer:

Russian officials had made offers including free housing for life, an indefinite living allowance of $2,000 a month, visas and free passage for her children, and the right to travel beyond Russia to any country she wished, in return for her co-operation.

She told the Court she merely acted under her husband's instructions in delivering letters with invisible ink to someone who gave her a packet of money to bring back to the U.S.

I can't imagine she's thrilled with her husband right now. According to this version, her children will be granted visas to visit her, which means they won't be moving there. And, she's been promised she can leave Russia for Peru. [More...]