The law-and-disorder nature of Ryder's courtroom appearance seems to dovetail with the actress' overall campaign to deal with her shopping misadventure. She appeared in a ''Free Winona'' T-shirt on the June cover of W magazine; hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' May 18, joking that ''SNL'' cast members feared pickpocketing; and hammed it up June 1 on the MTV Movie Awards with ''Mr. Deeds'' costar Adam Sandler. Ryder's attorneys aren't discouraging the levity. ''She was good, wasn't she?'' said co-defender Shepard Kopp of the ''SNL'' gig. ''Pretty good imitation of Björk.''
Pretty good spin, too, says crisis management guru Allan Mayer, who handled Halle Berry's hit-and-run case and Paula Poundstone's child endangerment charges: ''It's not enough for a celebrity to actually be innocent. The public expects them to be on the rooftops proclaiming their innocence.'' But one celeb defense lawyer worries the PR campaign could jeopardize her case: ''The possibility of things going wrong is so high when a client is talking to Barbara Walters or appearing on 'SNL.''' And a lot could go wrong. If convicted of the charges -- grand theft, burglary, vandalism, and possession of a controlled substance -- Ryder could face more than three years' jail time, though it's unlikely a first offender would be punished so severely.
In any case, Hollywood's unofficial court of appeals doesn't consider the scandal too damaging. ''It's so trivial,'' says Fox film chief Tom Rothman, who worked with Ryder on 1997's ''Alien Resurrection.'' ''She's a total professional. Nobody's ever had an ounce of problems with her, ever. Ever. I would hire her in a minute.'' Other studio chiefs aren't as enthusiastic as Rothman, but none think her career is over. ''Would I pass on her because of this?'' says another studio head. ''Not if she was really right for the role. But I can't imagine her being the only person...for a role.''
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