Just before being sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation, Lindsay Lohan pleaded with the judge, saying, "I'm not taking this as a joke, it's my life and career. I don't want you to think I don't respect you and your terms."

But the perennially troubled star's hand -- actually her fingernail -- told a different story. Written neatly on the middle finger of her left hand was a crass message, one that doesn't exactly show much "respect" for the court or the judge.

Was her one-finger salute meant for Judge Marsha Revel? We may never know, but given their shared animosity, it's hard to imagine Lohan wouldn't want to send a message in the courtroom.

Lohan may have shown poor judgment in writing such a thing on her nail, but because Revel failed to notice it during the actual hearing, it's highly doubtful she'll get into more trouble for it.

"A finding of contempt of court can be showing disrespect for the judge generally at the time it occurs not after -- or retroactively," attorney, legal expert and author Vikki Ziegler told PopEater. "It would be very difficult to prove that the nail art was intended for the Judge to be disrespectful at the hearing."

Ziegler noted that while it was inappropriate for Lohan to write the expletive on her nail, "I don't believe it rises to level of contempt as legally defined."

The 'Mean Girls' star was calm and collected in the Beverly Hills courtroom until sentencing, but when the judge handed down her decision, it became abundantly clear the actress was unaware how badly her day would end. She even took to Twitter in the early morning to voice her excitement about a sale on Louis Vuitton bags.

Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail followed by a 90-day in-patient rehab program for violating probation on a previous DUI case. She must surrender to the court on July 20 at 8:30am to begin serving her time.

Sheriff's spokesperson Steve Whitmore said many female inmates in Lohan's situation only serve about 25% of their sentence -- which means about 23 days for Lohan.