[Updated at 1:10 p.m.: Lohan arrived about 20 minutes before her scheduled court appearance, wearing a snug white, knit dress, sunglasses and high heels.]
Satellite TV trucks filled the rear parking lot behind the courthouse with their masts extended high to deliver images from the ninth-floor courtroom of Judge Keith L. Schwartz.
A dozen sheriff's deputies in tan and green milled around the parking lot, preparing for Lohan's expected arrival for a 1:30 p.m. court appearance.
Last week, Los Angeles Police Department detectives presented the results of their investigation into the alleged theft to prosecutors. Detectives investigated whether Lohan stole a "one-of-a-kind," $2,500 necklace that went missing last month from a Venice jewelry store not far from where she lives.
Store video and paparazzi photos are among the evidence authorities have collected, law enforcement sources told The Times. The sources said police have a video from the store showing Lohan wearing the necklace. Prosecutors formally charged Lohan with a single count of grand theft on Wednesday.
She is already on probation in connection with a misdemeanor drunk driving case from 2007 and faces more jail time.