Court upholds ban on Britney Spears seeing her sons
Court commissioner upholds order suspending Britney Spears' visitation rights to two children.
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Wednesday, 20, Feb 2008 02:37
Britney Spears is still not permitted to see her children after a court commissioner upheld the order suspending her visitation rights.
The troubled star had submitted a renewed bid to have her visitation rights to her two sons restored but commissioner Scott M Gordon refused to grant any changes to the order, which also denies the singer monitored visits with the boys.
The upholding of the order sees the Toxic star's ex-husband Kevin Federline retaining sole custody of Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James, with Britney only permitted telephone contact with the children.
Federline was granted primary custody of the boys in October before Britney's hospitalisation in January saw her visitation rights suspended.
The commissioner also rejected a request from the 26-year-old's outgoing lawyer Anne Kiley to prevent other lawyers involved in the case from discussing it with the media.
While Ms Kiley had argued the media attention was distressing to Britney, Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan claimed the singer was obsessed with the constant presence of the paparazzi.
He said he hoped there would be an end to "pre-leaking of information to favoured media outlets as to where they [Ms Spears and companions] are going and how they will get there".
One change was approved at Tuesday's hearing in Los Angeles, with Mr Gordon approving a request to replace Britney's previous lawyer Kiley with a new attorney, Stacy Philips.
It is believed Ms Philips has been handpicked by Britney's father James and is ostensibly representing his conservatorship of his daughter's estate.
Kaplan told reporters outside the court that Federline was hopeful of a resolution to the case.
"Both sides want to see the day when visitation can renew and the question of working out the details of how that would be implemented will probably take some time. But not that much time, hopefully," he said.
"We are working to expedite that process, as it would be in the best interest of the boys.
"Mr Federline looks forward to his children having their mom in their life."