Pregnancy and an overcrowded jail got Nicole Richie out of the pen after only serving 82 minutes behind bars.

Accompanied by her lawyer and boyfriend Joel Madden, the five-months pregnant Richie entered the jail in Lynwood, Calif., at 3:15 p.m. for booking, listed at 5′1″ and 105 lbs. She was processed into the system and released at 4:37 p.m., a sheriff’s statement said.

“Miss Richie was cooperative during the process,” the statement said.

The statement said she was released “based on her sentence and federal court guidelines.” Under the current sheriff’s policy, non-violent female offenders sentenced to 30 days or less are booked and released within 12 hours.

Richie was “treated in the same manner as other inmates with a similar sentence,” the statement said.

This is the right call in this situation.  You don’t want women that are harmless and four months pregnant in an overcrowded jail.  If she happened to lose the baby while locked up, it wouldn’t be good at all.

She will be on probation for three years.  So she will have to be on her best behavior or she will get the Hilton treatment next time around.