LOS ANGELES (AP) - January 23, 2008
The pop star came to the courthouse to seek visits with two
little boys, entered the building and went through security
screening. But she suddenly stated that she wanted to leave and was
driven away, Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said.
Upstairs, Commissioner Scott Gordon went ahead with a closed
hearing, and "notice was taken of Miss Spears' absence,"
Parachini said. Spears' lawyer argued that she be allowed to have
visits, and ex-husband Kevin Federline - who showed up for the
hearing - was asked a few questions that required yes or no
answers, Parachini said.
In the end, Gordon made no change to the order suspending her
visitation rights. The hearing was not scheduled and Spears was not
ordered to be there, Parachini said.
Spears, 26, and Federline, 29, are battling over sons Sean
Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1. It was the second time this month
that Spears pulled a disappearing act at the courthouse in her
custody battle with her ex-husband.
Earlier this month, Gordon suspended Spears' visitation rights
and gave full custody to Federline, then kept that order in effect
during an emergency hearing last week. That time, Spears was driven
into the civic center garage but decided to leave.
The hearings followed a bizarre early January standoff at
Spears' home when she refused to return the boys after a visit and
was briefly hospitalized.
On Wednesday, Gordon called the Spears case at about 9:15 a.m.,
allowing Spears' attorney, Anne Kiley, to go out and try to find
her client. Kiley returned about 20 minutes later and Gordon called
the matter again.
"Is your client present?" he asked Kiley.
"No, she's not," the lawyer replied.
"Is she going to be present?" the commissioner asked.
"I don't know," Kiley said.
The commissioner then said there were motions filed by both
sides but he didn't indicate what they were. Federline was sworn in
as a witness and Kaplan asked that the courtroom be cleared of
spectators and the press.
Spears evaded swarms of paparazzi by arriving and leaving
through a basement parking garage under the courthouse.
She wore bright lipstick, sunglasses, gold platform shoes and a
very short black cocktail dress with a ruffled hem. Federline, clad
in a tan suit and open-necked shirt and sporting a mohawk haircut,
arrived a half hour before Spears.
The next hearing is set for Feb. 4, at which time Spears'
attorneys will ask permission to withdraw from the case. A hearing
on custody is set for Feb. 19.
A custody trial is set for April. Federline's attorney, Mark
Vincent Kaplan, noted outside court that the commissioner has
ordered a custody evaluator to report back to him before the trial.
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