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.

Marinette County Chief deputy Jerry Sauve (SOH'-vee) says it's unclear whether charges will be filed against 38-year-old Scott J. Johnson before that court appearance.

Johnson is accused of shooting the four as they swam in the Menominee River on Thursday. Authorities don't know why the four were shot.

A 24-year-old woman has alleged that Johnson sexually assaulted her at the same site one day earlier. Johnson hasn't been charged in that case and authorities aren't sure whether it's related to the shootings.

The justices in a 5-4 vote late Wednesday stopped the execution by injection of Thomas Arthur "pending further orders of this Court." Arthur, 66, was scheduled to die Thursday, more than 26 years after he was convicted of killing Troy Wicker Jr. of Muscle Shoals.

It was the third time Arthur received a stay on the eve of his execution.

"My reaction is we finally look forward to the opportunity to examine fully Mr. Arthur's claim of innocence by assessing witness testimony and DNA evidence," said defense attorney Suhana S. Han. "That is the right result."

State Attorney General Troy King called the stay a serious setback for the prosecution.

"The crimes against Troy Wicker's family continue to compound," he said. "There is a good chance he is going to escape his sentence before all is said and done."

Han said Arthur "was absolutely ecstatic."

"Having to face execution is something that most of us can never really imagine," she said.

Arthur's attorneys sought a stay from the governor and the courts by using Monday's sworn statement by Bobby Ray Gilbert, who claimed he killed Wicker. Gilbert is serving a life sentence for a different murder.

But Wicker's widow, who served 10 years of a life sentence for hiring the killer, told attorney general investigators that she never met Gilbert.

"I hired and paid money to Thomas Arthur, not Bobby Gilbert, to kill Troy Wicker," Judy Wicker said in a statement Monday.

Han said a hearing was needed to assess the credibility of Gilbert and Wicker.

Casey Anthony is being held on $500,000 bail on charges of child neglect, making false statements and obstructing an investigation. Police say the 22-year-old mother lied to them and didn't report daughter Caylee missing for more than a month.

Casey Anthony hasn't been charged with her daughter's disappearance, but prosecutors call her a person of interest in what is beginning to look like a homicide investigation.

A lower court set the high bond. The 5th District Court of Appeal on Wednesday denied Anthony's request to order it lowered to $10,000. A spokeswoman says attorney Jose Baez plans to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.