Lindsay Lohan Probation Ends
Lindsay Lohan was taken off formal probation Thursday morning when a judge ruled that she had successfully met the terms of her probation stemming from her 2007 DUI in Beverly Hills.
After completing her mandatory community service hours at the court morgue and attending therapy sessions, the terms of her probation were met, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner ruled.
For two more years, the actress will remain on a modified probation for the theft of a necklace from a Venice jewelry store. However, the judge has reduced the definition of the probation to unsupervised.
Lohan, 25, expressed gratitude for the judge's decision saying, "It's really opened a lot of doors for me, so I really appreciate it.''
In comparison to Lohan's more controversial previous court appearances, this time, Judge Sautner only had praise for the actress.
"I'm not going to give a lecture because you know what you need to do," Judge Sautner said.
"You need to live your life in a more mature way, stop the night-clubbing and focus on your work. You don't need to come to court anymore," she added.
The judge told Lohan that the only term of her probation is that she follow the law at all times.
"It's not that hard. I know it's kind of hard when people are following you all over the place ... but that's the life you chose,'' Sautner said.
After pleading no contest in May to a misdemeanor grand theft charge involving a necklace which had a $2,500 price tag, Lohan was placed on three years’ probation and ordered to spend 120 days in jail. She also had to complete 480 hours of community service for violating probation in her 2007 DUI case.
For a while, the actress did not follow instructions -- showing up sporadically for her community service at a downtown women's shelter and causing shelter officials to remove her from their program.
As a result, Sautner revoked Lohan's probation and ordered her to spend 30 days in jail. However, Lohan ended up only serving five hours due to overcrowding.
Lohan was then ordered to complete her mandatory community service at the morgue and follow a strict schedule of therapy sessions. She also was instructed to make monthly court appearances so that her progress could be monitored.
Ever since, Lohan has received praise for her increased efforts to follow court instructions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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