Reports are that Lindsay Lohan is willing to plead guilty to felony charges of theft as part of a plea bargain, as long as she doesn’t have to spend time in the clink.

Judges will often approve plea deals in which the offense has been reduced to a misdemeanor and the defendant can be given the typical celebrity sentence: probation and community service.

Sometimes judges will also approve a plea bargain in which the defendant pleads guilty to the felony, receives a non-jail sentence and, following a successful three-year probation, is able to get the felony reduced to a misdemeanor.

Lohan could go to trial, and under the reported facts her attorney would only need to convince one of the jurors that she didn’t intend to steal.

Even if the jury did decide to convict Lindsay, the judge could choose a punishment other than prison since she arguably poses no threat to the public at large, much like the judge did in the Winona Ryder case a number of years back.

Lohan still may be deemed to have violated her probation in the previous DUI case, and if so, under normal circumstances, would have to face some jail time.

But hey, L. A. is called the Capital City of Celebrity Justice, the place where long ago the courts gave birth to a two-tiered legal system.

Lohan posted $20,000 bail on the most recent charge – this time for stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice Jeweler. Lohan says it was lent to her and that would be her defense.