No Gagging the Brit & K-Fed Crew

Britney Spears may not be present for the latest hearing in her ongoing custody battle, but just about everyone else in the pop star's life is accounted for in the proceedings.

Jamie Spears, the singer's father and coconservator; Andrew Wallet, an attorney and fellow coconservator; Anne Kiley, Spears' current attorney in the custody case; Stacy Phillips, Spears' custody attorney-in-waiting; Mark Vincent Kaplan, Kevin Federline's attorney; and, of course, the ringmaster himself, Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon were all present as the session got rolling Tuesday morning.

Spears herself was not—and not required to be—present for the day's proceedings. Federline, too, was absent from the courtroom.

Several police officers did show, however, in the event either of the ex-Chaotic couple decided to drop in for the fun.

The first order of the potentially long day was to discuss the possibility of an expanded gag order, which Kiley argued should be put in place against those involved in the inner workings of the case. Gordon, however, quickly denied the request.

"The First Amendment rights aren't absolute," she said in court. "We are not trying to control the paparazzi. We are trying to control what we can control...We've heard nothing from [Kaplan] in his papers or arguments as to why it is that attorneys need to make statements to the media."

Kiley was seeking to quiet attorneys on both sides from speaking to the media to protect the singer's emotional and physical well-being. Gordon said the concern, while legitimate, should be resolved between the media and law enforcement agencies, and not by the court.

"We are dealing with a very critical issue here," Gordon said of Kiley's gag request, which also sought to keep private the dates and times of the custody hearings. "The public does have the right to know what the court is doing and to see that it's accurate.

"Your main concern is the conduct of the photographers, and that is a law-enforcement issue. All the attorneys on both sides have proceeded with nothing but dignity."

After the ruling, Gordon said he would formalize Phillips' appointment as Spears' new custody attorney by the end of the day, when Kiley and her firm, Trope and Trope, announces their withdrawal.

Then the commissioner cleared the courtroom to conduct the rest of the day's proceedings in private. Spears is attempting to have some custody rights restored during the hearing—she hasn't seen sons Sean Preston and Jayden James since early January, when she refused to hand them over, prompting her first involuntary trip to a psych ward.

Last week, Gordon tentatively approved Trope and Trope's bailing, provided a new attorney was ready and willing to step in to represent the troubled 26-year-old.

E! News has learned that Phillips, who made her Spears legal debut by donning bright silver stilettos and a grape skirt suit, filed documents with the court last week to sub for the beleaguered Trope and Trope at the behest of Jamie Spears.

During the public portion of the hearing, Phillips was sitting alongside the elder Spears.

A source inside the closed-door courtroom told E! News that when Gordon finally began the process of approving the old switcheroo, Kiley was "smiling" and looked "happy about it."

Phillips, who has previously represented Tori Spelling, Bobby Brown and Axl Rose in their respective divorces, steps into the case in a slightly different capacity than her predecessors.

While Trope and Trope repped Britney herself in the custody battle, Phillips will work in conjunction with Jamie Spears and Wallet and function in court as an attorney for the singer's conservatorship, which, for the time being, still has control over Spears' estate and legal decisions, including any that may deal with custody of her sons.

Once the conservatorship ends—the next hearing is penciled in for Mar. 10—the revolving door of Spears' attorneys may turn once more, with Spears getting the option of sticking with current counsel or selecting a new custody attorney of her own choosing.

In the wake of a relatively calm and stable, by Spears standards, week or so, today's hearing may potentially also seek to amend the singer's current custody rights. At present, the pop star is only allowed to speak with her children over the phone.

A source tells E! News that it's possible Spears could be granted limited and monitored visitation with the boys. Federline has previously said that if his ex-missus gets help, he wouldn't block her from seeing the kids.

A total of seven items were originally on the docket for today's proceedings, though, according to Kaplan, the count is already down to six.

While footage of Spears running a red light while being aggressively trailed by paparazzi last year was originally due to be shown in court, Federline's attorney said it will no longer be aired, telling a reporter outside the courtroom, "It won't be necessary."

(Originally published Feb. 19, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. PT.)