Lohan doing well on probation, judge says

LOS ANGELES?? A judge says Lindsay Lohan is doing well under her strict new probation routine of counseling and working at the county morgue.

A progress report hearing lasted less than 10 minutes on Wednesday after the actress successfully completed the benchmarks set by Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner.

Lohan has worked at the morgue for 12 days since her sentencing Nov. 2 and completed five therapy sessions.

Sautner gave Lohan an incentive to work harder, telling the actress she could leave California for personal visits once she completes 12 days of morgue duty a month.

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Lohan returned from a trip to celebrate her sister's birthday in Hawaii hours before her court appearance.

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Lohan has been reporting regularly for work at the morgue since being repeatedly threatened with a long jail sentence if she failed to complete the terms of her probation.

The hearing was without the usual drama that precedes Lohan's recent court appearances, which have focused on the actress' shortcomings by missing court-ordered therapy sessions and getting booted from a community service assignment at a women's shelter.

The "Mean Girls" star spent less than five hours at a jail last month as part of a 30-day sentence imposed by Sautner for Lohan's continued misbehavior.

The judge is requiring the starlet to report on her progress monthly and it appears Lohan has been successful in meeting the goals.

"She's been doing fine," Deputy Chief Coroner Ed Winter said Tuesday, saying the actress has been showing up, working and leaving without incident.

He said he did not know how many hours Lohan had completed.

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Lohan remains on probation for a 2007 drunken driving case and a misdemeanor grand theft case filed after she took a $2,500 necklace without permission.

She has consistently struggled with the terms of her various sentences, which have included jail terms, rehab, community service and counseling.

Her appearance Wednesday came days before a Playboy issue featuring Lohan in a mostly nude pictorial hits newsstands. The magazine released the issue online early after photos of the Marilyn Monroe-inspired spread leaked out online.

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Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45668258/ns/today-entertainment/

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