Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan will NOT take the plea deal the judge is offering in her felony grand theft case … NOLLYWOODGOSSIP has learned.

Sources connected to Lindsay tell NOLLYWOODGOSSIP … Lindsay met with her lawyer, Shawn Holley Tuesday afternoon.  Holley laid out the options but left the decision to Lindsay, who said she’s firm about her innocence and wants to push it to the wall at trial.

Lindsay’s felony grand theft case will now be assigned to Judge Stephanie Sautner — who’s considered a tough but fair judge — and the preliminary hearing is set for April 22.

Lindsay faces both jail and prison as the case moves on — jail,  if Judge Sautner decides Lindsay violated her probation, and prison, if Lindsay is convicted of grand theft.

We have been saying Lindsay was crazy not to accept the plea deal, not because she’d be found guilty of grand theft … but the way the system is set up, Lindsay could be thrown in jail for the probation violation before her grand theft trial.

Here’s the good news for Lindsay.  If she had accepted a plea deal, she would have been placed on 3 years probation — and Lindsay staying out of trouble for 3 years is highly improbable.

Fact is … Lindsay has a credible defense in the grand theft case, and if Judge Sautner agrees NOT to rule on the probation violation until a verdict is reached in the grand theft case, Lindsay could get off scot-free.