Prosecutors had hoped to introduce reports from an ankle, alcohol monitor to show the "Mean Girls" actress had violated a court order against drinking imposed as part of a 2007 drug case.
However, Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel said she would honor what she said in a closed session to lawyers for both sides, and not allow the negative report to be used at the hearing that could end with Lohan being sent to jail for a possible violation.
Instead, Revel will only consider whether the actress failed to complete the required number of alcohol education courses on time.
Lohan's attorney Shawn Chapman Holley told Revel that she hadn't prepared to defend against the alcohol monitor report because of what the judge told her previously.
The judge had apparently told Chapman Holley that information from the monitor would only affect bail for the actress. Revel doubled Lohan's bail to $200,000 after receiving the alert last week.
Lohan arrived about 10 minutes early for the hearing at the Beverly Hills courthouse. Lohan's father, Michael, also attended.
Revel scheduled the hearing after Lohan missed a court date in May. She has been required to wear an ankle alcohol monitor since then.
The hearing immediately hit a snag as attorneys sparred on what evidence could be introduced.
The judge ordered Lohan's alcohol education program to turn records over to prosecutor Danette Meyers, who said it would take her some time to review.
Meyers previously said she intended to introduce evidence that Lohan's alcohol monitor had been tampered with. The device issued a report last month that it detected alcohol in Lohan's system, which the star and her attorney have denied.
Revel said she would give Holley adequate time to prepare, even if that required rescheduling that portion of the hearing for another day.
Testimony from other witnesses was given later in the day.
Lohan spent 84 minutes in jail in 2007 after she pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine and no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and one count of reckless driving.
The plea came after a pair of high-profile arrests earlier that year. She was sentenced to three years of probation but had to ask for a yearlong extension in October after she failed to complete her alcohol-education courses on time.
Revel revoked Lohan's probation in May after the actress missed a court hearing to promote a film project at the Cannes Film Festival. Lohan claimed her passport was stolen, but Revel ordered her to wear the alcohol monitor upon her return.
Weeks later, the monitor issued an alert after Lohan attended the MTV Movie Awards and its after-parties.
Regardless of the outcome, Tuesday's hearing won't be the last reminder for Lohan of the court case and her arrests. She will soon be questioned about her drug use three years ago by civil attorneys representing a woman suing Lohan.
The actress' attorney persuaded a judge to delay that deposition until after Tuesday's hearing so her answers couldn't be used against her in the criminal case.
