Lindsay Lohan’s legal woes end after 5 years

Lindsay Lohan will not be appearing in court anymore if she continues to obey the law, a Los Angeles judge told her Thursday after ending the actress’ supervised probation on shoplifting and drunk-driving convictions.

The hearing put an end to Lohan’s five years of criminal court appearances that saw the actress bounce in and out of rehab and jail for violating her probation.

L.A. County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner declared “she did it,” in announcing Lohan had completed 480 hours of community service at the county morgue and undergone dozens of therapy sessions.

“She has completed it short of a year, and she has done everything this court has asked her to do,” Sautner declared during a short hearing at the airport courthouse.

Sautner ended Lohan’s probation on the 2007 DUI case and reduced her formal probation on a shoplifting conviction last year for stealing a necklace from a Venice jewelry store to unsupervised probation until May 2014.

“The only terms left for you on that case are to obey all laws. It’s not that hard. I know it’s kind of hard when people are following you around all the time, but that’s the life you chose,” Sautner told the “Mean Girls” actress.

A smiling Lohan responded, “I just wanted to thank you, Your Honor, for being fair,” adding that it has “opened a lot of doors for me.”

Lohan, 25, with red hair and a blue suit, was decidedly lighter in mood than during previous court appearances. Over the last few years, she has often been a solemn, teary-eyed defendant. On Thursday, she profusely thanked her attorney, Shawn Holley.

Over the course of Lohan’s lengthy probation stemming from two DUI arrests, she has been repeatedly jailed by judges for various violations, including using drugs and alcohol, failing to return to Los Angeles from Paris for a hearing and missing community service at a downtown women’s center.

Sautner has previously sent Lohan to jail and after a period of house arrest imposed a strict set of monthly community service and therapy requirements.

Her probation status and court troubles have hindered her ability to get work. But recently she was on the cover of Playboy, hosted “Saturday Night Live” and is slated to appear on the TV show “Glee” and portray Elizabeth Taylor in a Lifetime movie.

Sautner also gave Lohan one final piece of advice: “I am not going to give you a lecture. Live your life in a more mature way, stop the night clubbing and focus on your work. OK?”

richard.winton@latimes.com