He told Fox News, "She's just in an unfortunate situation." You don't say?

Nicole Richie is due in court on July 11th to begin trial for her driving under the influence case after an arrest last December. The case also alleged that she had a prior D.U.I. conviction.

None of this looks like it will fare well for the skinny socialite, especially in the wake of the Paris Hilton jail debacle where it seems Hollywood judges are just salivating for the opportunity to throw her kind behind bars.

I think the deal is that the judges get their own reality show, right? Something like that!

In any case, Lionel continued, " She keeps apologizing to me. I told her 'You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing to your father at this age.'"

He CLEARLY doesn't believe his daughter's TWO alleged D.U.I.'s are deserving of all the hype and chalks it up to what else? Well the internet of course!

"There's just so much information out there right now — MySpace, cell phones, the Internet. If we had had all that when The Commodores were around, God only knows what my mother and father would have seen."

Screw throwing Nicole in jail, Lionel deserves a stint of his own for this comment alone.