Judge to Lindsay Lohan: “You're Doing Well”

The court date is Lohan's first monthly progress update since a judge handed down the new restrictions

Lindsay Lohan is doing a good job when it comes to meeting strict new probation requirements set last month, according to the judge who set the new rules. 

The court appearance was the first since Lohan's new requirements went in effect last month. They include service at the LA County morgue and couseling sessions for previous probation violations.

Lohan arrived at the courthouse wearing brown slacks and a beige cardigan at about 9:50 a.m. PT. The progress update lasted about five minutes and ended with encouraging words from the judge.

"You're doing well," judge Stephanie Sautner told Lohan, before setting the next court date for Jan. 17.

The entire hearing lasted about 5 minutes, and the actress left the courthouse around 10:15 a.m. (video embedded, below).

The actress has been reporting regularly for clean-up duty at the morgue and complying with other terms of her probation, according to her spokesman. In her spare time, she has been vacationing in Hawaii and posing for a Playboy spread -- images from the shoot were leaked early online.

The judge noted there seemed to be some confusion over whether the terms of Lohan's probation allowed her to travel outside the state of California. The judge said she didn't have a problem with Lohan's Hawaii vacation or other travel, as along as she completes the 12 days of service per month before she travels.

The morgue service is part of her punishment for violating her probation on a 2007 drunken driving case and a misdemeanor grand theft case involving a Venice jewelry store.

The judge ordered she appear monthly for progress updates until March. If she complies with the judge's rules, her probation requirements could be eased in March.

"Do more (service) days per month, and maybe we can end this in February," the judge told Lohan.

As part of the Playboy feature article, Lohan was asked about what she has learned from her legal troubles.

"That, ultimately, we are each responsible for ourselves and for our actions," she reportedly said. "Looking back, I probably would have listened to and taken more advice from the people I admire and would have followed through with it more, but my stubbornness at 18 and 19 got in the way."

Lohan nearly missed a flight back to LA from Hawaii Tuesday because of what her rep described as a "travel-related issue." She had to cancel a planned taping for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the Los Angeles Times reported.

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