Lindsay Lohan walked into a courtroom to face a felony grand theft charge looking like a million dollars, only to be told by a judge she was no different than anyone else.

Lohan's arraignment on a charge that she stole a $2,500 necklace from an upscale jeweler wasn't the first time a judge threatened to throw the troubled starlet in jail. But it was the first time a judge wielded enough power to keep her locked up for a long time.

"You're in a different situation now that a felony has been filed," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz said after the actress pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

"Everybody else has to follow the law," Schwartz said, noting that he was giving the actress a tamer version of a lecture he'd delivered to her attorney behind closed doors and away from the dozens of assembled reporters.