Spears Strikes Out Over Visitation
Britney Spears might have changed lawyers, but she couldn't get the court commissioner to change his tune during a custody hearing today.
Team Britney had been hoping to have some semblance of visitation rights reinstated for the Blackout artiste, who hasn't seen her two sons in over a month. But by the time Tuesday's session was over, Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon still had refused to grant any visits, court-monitored or not, to the singer.
As a result, the terms of the custody order stand as they have since the singer's first hospitalization on Jan. 3: Kevin Federline retains sole custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James; Spears is allowed no more than telephone contact with the boys.
The ruling came about midway through the day's proceedings, which also included a request for a gag order (denied) and a Spears attorney swap (approved) on the to-do list.
Spears' lawyers past (Anne Kiley) and future (Stacy Phillips), along with Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan were, in a rare show of solidarity, trying to work out some sort of visitation ground rules.
Following Gordon's ruling, however, the Kiley and Kaplan appeared to be taking matters into their own hands. An insider confirmed to E! News that the frequent sparring partners powwowed through a recess to allow Spears to perform some motherly duties.
But they were unable to reach an agreement and all custody matters have been dismissed pending the next hearing, set for Mar. 10.
"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," Kaplan said outside the courtroom. "But not that much time, hopefully.
"We are working to expedite that process, as it would be in the best interest of the boys."
At the end of the day's proceedings, Phillips officially stepped in as the singer's lead custody counsel. A source familiar with the case told E! News that Britney's father, Jamie Spears, personally picked Phillips to come aboard after Kiley and her firm, Trope and Trope, begged out.
Phillips is technically a lawyer for the conservatorship of Spears' estate—under whose jurisdiction lies any legal decisions, custody matters included—rather than for the pop star herself.
The court was also originally expected to review footage of Britney Spears, with children and court monitor as passengers, running a red light last year while being hotly pursued by paparazzi. However, Kaplan told a reporter outside the courthouse that the video would not be shown after all, as "it is no longer necessary."
Earlier today, Kiley struck out on a motion to gag both sides in the case from speaking to the media or paparazzi, arguing that it puts Spears in emotional and physical danger.
Gordon agreed that the open and increasingly aggressive access to the singer and her ongoing custody battle was a legitimate issue, but one whose responsibility fell under the purview of law enforcement and the press, and which was not an issue to be dealt with in court.
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