Nicole Richie detours to jail

Los Angeles - Nicole Richie's wrong turn is leading her to straight jail.

The Simple Life star was sentenced to four days in jail, after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of drugs. She has until Sept. 28 to complete the sentence, which is the mandatory minimum for her offense, according to Richie's publicist.

Nicole Richie departs the courthouse in Glendale, Calif., Friday, July 27, 2007. [AP]

Richie, who was credited with six hours of time served, was placed on three years' probation, ordered to 21 days of drug and alcohol-education classes and fined $2,048 by Superior Court Commissioner Steven K. Lubell.

Lubell told her "not to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol or drugs in your system" and said the California Department of Motor Vehicles will determine whether to suspend her license.

"You are very lucky that no one was hurt or killed as the result of this incident," Lubell said.

Wearing oversize sunglasses and a shapeless, sleeveless black dress, the petite starlet, accompanied by rocker boyfriend Joel Madden, arrived five minutes early to court in Glendale, California. She spoke only briefly, offering a hushed "guilty" when Lubell asked for her plea.

She nodded solemnly when he asked if she understood the terms of the plea deal worked out between her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, and prosecutors.

"The fact of this case, as the court knows it, is pretty scary. Someone could have gotten killed or injured. The court does not want anything to happen to you," Lubell said.

"If you continue to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and someone gets killed, you can be charged with murder, not manslaughter.

"I hope that never, ever happens."

Richie has her choice of serving time in a county jail, like Simple Life cohort Paris Hilton, or in a city jail, which is cushier but has its own disadvantages.

"Being in the city jail means that she is not subject to the early release from the county jail system because of overcrowding, and it also means that she has to pay for her time in jail versus the citizens of Los Angeles," said Carolina Lugo of the District's Attorney's Office.

Richie's legal troubles began in December, when she was arrested for allegedly driving the wrong way on a Los Angeles freeway. Police said she failed a field sobriety test and admitted smoking marijuana and taking the painkiller Vicodin before getting behind the wheel of her black SUV.

Richie, 25, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence at her arraignment hearing in February.

Had she gone to trial and been convicted of the charge, she would have been sentenced to a minimum of five days in jail and could have faced up to a year behind bars due to a 2003 DUI conviction on her record.

The case had been set to go to trial two weeks ago, but Holley successfully petitioned Lubell to postpone her trial date to Aug. 16.

Holley said the delay was needed because an expert defense witness would be out of the country and unavailable to testify.

The expert, Dr. Terence Sean McGee, was expected to challenge the results of Richie's drug test.

Legal experts say the stall tactic bought Holley more time to hammer out a plea deal.

Richie, the daughter of music star Lionel, is due to sit down next week with Diane Sawyer for a lengthy interview, where the reality star is expected to hold forth on her legal woes and much rumored but not publicly acknowledged pregnancy.