Matthew Fox will be outfoxing jail if he opts to undergo a diversion program. To avoid time, he has to undergo treatment within a year -- and stay off the booze for at least that long.
Seems like a no-brainer, right? But as we saw yesterday with Teen Mom star Amber Portwood, not everyone chooses to go to rehab over time served behind bars.
The actor, who has three movie projects coming out in the next couple of years, has recently been known more for his antics offscreen than on the big screen.
In this case, the judge's decision stems from his DUI arrest back in May. The 45-year-old actor was pulled over near his home in Bend, Oregon, for failing to signal properly or stay in his lane.
More recently, a party bus driver who claimed Fox punched her in the chest and groin in 2011 dropped charges she filed against him, citing problems paying for legal fees.
Perhaps Fox's Lost co-star, Dominic Monaghan, may have helped her with the fees? No one seemed less surprised by the allegations brought against Fox than Monaghan, who took to Twitter, claiming that the beat-down wasn't an isolated incident.
"He beats women," Monaghan told a Fox fan on the social networking site. "not isolated issues. often."
This resulted in a heated exchange between fan and actor, with Monaghan going so far as to say: "An accusation is when you 'claim' someone did something wrong… but hey little fan girl maybe want to get slapped around by him? Daddy issues?… It's never okay. Maybe you have lower standards."
If Fox chooses to not go the way of Amber Portwood and complete the terms of the program in 12 months, the deputy district attorney on the case, Cliff Lu, told People his charge "is certain to be dismissed."