Judge Ronald Giles agreed Tuesday with the mayor's attorneys that a no-contact order didn't include Ayanna Kilpatrick. The mayor spent time with his sister during the weekend.

Last week, Giles had sent the mayor to jail last week in a separate perjury case.

Giles had put the mayor in jail Thursday after learning he traveled to Windsor, Ontario, in July without notifying authorities, a condition of his bond in the perjury case. Kilpatrick was released Friday.

Police warned jumpy residents in this city of 8,300 people to be on the lookout for a dangerous suspect who may be someone they know.

Nobody was injured in either fire, the latest of which started shortly after 4 a.m. in the prosecutor's office in a one-story brick building that houses several other law offices in Lancaster's small downtown, authorities said.

Police Capt. Harlean Howard said witnesses to the fires have been interviewed but urged more to come forward. She also said experience shows the suspect will likely follow the investigation closely in media reports and in conversations.

The ruling by Judge Ronald Giles came after the mayor apologized to the court, saying it won't happen again.

The judge says he would have given the same treatment to any criminal defendant.

Kilpatrick's attorneys say they immediately will appeal the ruling.

Earlier Thursday, Kilpatrick waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will head to trial on perjury and other criminal charges.

Deborah Curling, a former production assistant, sued Barker, CBS and production company FremantleMedia North America in October, claiming she faced retaliation after testifying against Barker in another wrongful termination lawsuit.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm H. Mackey tentatively dismissed several claims against Barker on Wednesday, saying he could not be sued for wrongful termination because he was not her employer.

Curling's attorney, Nick Alden, can amend the complaint to try to prove that Barker inflicted emotional distress, but Mackey dismissed that allegation for now.

Mackey also dismissed several claims lodged by Curling against FremantleMedia, but will allow Alden another chance to argue they should be included.

Attorneys for CBS and FremantleMedia declined to comment after the hearing.

Steven Phillips responded by removing a tracking device that had been strapped to his ankle since December, when he was released from prison on parole. He held up the ankle monitor to a cheering courtroom packed with a dozen family members and at least six fellow exonorees, who collectively served more than 100 years in prison until DNA tests proved their innocence.

"There was a lot of faith involved — the faith of my mother, the faith of my friends and my own faith," said Phillips, 50. "It's a wonderful day."

The judge's recommendation comes about a year after DNA testing showed Phillips was innocent of a 1982 sexual assault and burglary. Additional DNA testing earlier this year linked the crimes to Sidney Alvin Goodyear, who died in prison in 1998.

Phillips will be officially exonerated once the state Court of Criminal Appeals upholds the judge's recommendation or Gov. Rick Perry grants a pardon.

Phillips said he spent his time in prison writing letters to his mother and three children. Two were in court Tuesday, including Spc. Zachary Phillips, who wore his dress uniform and has served two tours in Iraq.

"I would wake up and say, I'm innocent ... ," Phillips said. "Sometimes that was all there was to hang onto. Unfortunately, it took 25 years to come into play."

Phillips is one of 19 men in Dallas County since 2001 proven innocent by DNA testing, a national high, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that represented Phillips and specializes in wrongful convictions.

Charles Ehrlich entered his plea to reduced charges of attempted accessory to robbery and attempted burglary.

Ehrlich is one of five men who accompanied Simpson during a confrontation in September with two sports memorabilia dealers at a casino hotel room.

He's now the fourth to take a plea deal, leaving one co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, facing trial with Simpson beginning Sept. 8.

Simpson and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon that could put them in prison for life if convicted.

Simpson has maintained that he was trying to retrieve personal belongings and family heirlooms, and that no guns were involved.

Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, said he couldn't immediately assess the effect of Monday's plea.