Better late than never: Britney Spears is finally respecting the authority of the Los Angeles legal system.
Days after becoming a fully licensed member of the driving class, the beleaguered pop star has taken two more steps toward reclaiming joint custody of sons Sean Preston and Jayden James: passing drug tests and meeting with a parenting guru.
Despite reports that the obstinate Spears would not be told by anyone—be it ex-husband, judge or court-appointed counselor—how to behave around her tots, the "Gimme More" singer has in fact been making good on the checklist laid out by Los Angeles Court Commissioner Scott Gordon.
"She has passed her random drug tests," Sorrell Trope, who's representing her in family court, told People. "There's been more than one. They came up negative."
Trope said that Spears, 25, has also quietly been meeting with, and taking advice from, a parenting coach.
"As far as I know, there have been no complaints," he told People, adding that his client's compliance makes her chances of regaining shared custody of the kids "good, based on the overall circumstances of the case."
Last month, Gordon deemed Spears a "habitual, frequent and continuous" user of drugs and alcohol and ordered her to submit to twice-weekly random testing and meet with a parenting counselor, as well as show proof of a California driver's license.
A week ago, Gordon ruled that Spears hadn't made a good-faith effort to follow his terms, and he gave Kevin Federline, 29, temporary primary custody of the boys.
Now, with Spears back on the program, she has enjoyed monitored visits with her sons on Monday and again Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Spears is also attempting to make good on the two misdemeanors she faces in connection with an August fender bender. Last month, she was formally charged with hit-and-run causing property damage and driving without a valid license.
Another of her attorneys, Michael Flanagan, was in court Tuesday for an unscheduled hearing to tell the judge that Spears has every intention of complying with the court's decision. Spears' arraignment on the charges, originally scheduled to take place in Van Nuys on Wednesday, has been postponed until Oct. 25, giving Flanagan more time to try and strike a deal with the woman whose parked car Spears hit. (View the order.)
The judge also ordered Spears to be booked, fingerprints and all, on the charges before appearing for arraignment, which will take place the day before her and Federline's next scheduled custody hearing.