Britney's Visitation Rights Still On Ice

Commissioner Upholds Ruling Against Embattled Pop Star Who Bailed On Custody Hearing

(CBS/AP)  A Superior Court commissioner decided Monday to keep in effect an earlier order suspending Britney Spears' right to visit her two sons and keeping them in ex-husband Kevin Federline's custody.

The ruling by Commissioner Scott Gordon came after a full day of testimony on a bizarre incident earlier this month in which police had Spears taken to a hospital after a standoff in her home when she refused to return the children to Federline's bodyguard after a visit.

Gordon scheduled another hearing for Feb. 19.

Spears came to the courthouse briefly during the afternoon but never went inside. Instead, she left in a swarm of paparazzi.

The hearing in family law court was held behind closed doors after reporters were ordered to leave.

Court spokesman Allan Parachini said those who testified were two Los Angeles police officers; Paula Strong, the court-appointed monitor who was present for the visit at Spears home; Lisa Hacker, a parenting coach who has been working with Spears and Federline; and Lonnie Jones, the bodyguard who went to the home to get the children.

Parachini did not reveal what the witnesses said during their testimony.

Earlier Monday, Spears sparked a frenzy around the courthouse. She was brought into a civic center garage in an SUV, but only two of her attorneys got out before the vehicle left.

The vehicle then appeared to circle the block as paparazzi ran in a frenzy to film it.

Court spokesman Allan Parachini said she appeared to have left without ever going up to the courtroom.

Spears was later spotted at a Los Angeles mall eating lunch. More paparazzi waited for her outside, then snapped away as she exited in the waiting SUV and headed for home.

Earlier in the day, according to OK! magazine, Spears visited the Little Brown Church in Van Nuys, Calif. with her recent companion, photographer Adnan Ghalib.

"The church is a place of prayer open 24 hours of day for people seeking peace," a spokesperson for the church told the magazine. The pastor was out of town attending a funeral, the spokesperson said.

Federline and his lawyer were on hand as Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon began the hearing that morning, which was scheduled after Gordon had suspended Spears' right to visit her sons earlier this month.

Gordon allowed reporters into the courtroom for about one minute before he announced that the hearing was being closed.

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Photos: Standoff At Britney's

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The commissioner granted a motion from Spears' attorneys to quash a subpoena, but there was no information given about what the subpoena involved or to whom it had been issued.

A throng of photographers and reporters waited outside the downtown courthouse to see if Spears would come to what one attorney described as "the most significant hearing in the case so far." Law enforcement officers watched over the scene.

Spears has had trouble making recent legal dates: On Dec. 12, she called in sick for a court-ordered deposition, then arrived nearly two hours late at an attorney's office on its rescheduled date, Jan. 3.

Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told The Associated Press on Sunday that he didn't know if Spears would come to Monday's hearing, and he indicated that it would be important for her to be there to take the opportunity to try to persuade the court to restore visitation.

"You can't phone this one in," he said.

Ok! magazine reported that Spears was out late into the evening last night, pounding down Red Bulls and, according to witnesses, visiting no less than five pharmacies.

By 5 a.m. PT, it was already a media circus outside the L.A. Superior Courthouse.

"It's a big day," one police officer on the scene told OK!, saying the gathered reporters and photographers might not get the shot they're looking for. "I don't expect Britney to just roll up to the front door."

Police and emergency medical technicians who were summoned to Spears' home the night of Jan. 3 in a standoff involving her refusal to return the boys to ex-husband Federline were expected to testify Monday, probably behind closed doors, Kaplan said.

Kaplan said he knew it was only a temporary measure when he obtained emergency court orders two weeks ago granting sole physical and legal custody to Federline.

Police were called by a court-appointed monitor on Jan. 3 when Spears refused to hand over Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, to Federline's security guard. She locked herself in a room with one of the boys.

Police officers spent hours at the house and then called Fire Department paramedics who placed her on a gurney and hauled her away to a hospital with a crowd of paparazzi in pursuit. Spears left Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a day and half later.

Police have released no information about why Spears was taken to the hospital. TV's "Dr. Phil" McGraw told celebrity news programs he was with Spears as she was released, saying she was in "dire" need of medical and psychological help. That drew a rebuke from Spears' relatives.

The day after the incident, Kaplan presented papers to the court commissioner, who awarded sole legal and physical custody of the boys to Federline and suspended Spears' visitation rights.

Kaplan said if visitation is restored, it would be under more restrictions than those originally imposed by Gordon.

[jaydrum1]

BRITNEY NEEDS SOME QUIET DOWN TIME WITH ALOT OF
REST AND RELAXATION. I HEAR THE DOLPHINS ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW HEAD COACH AND GOD KNOWS SHE
COULD NOT DO ANY WORSE THAN LAST YEARS COACH.SHE SEEMS TO HAVE WAY MORE PROBLEMS THAN ANY OF THE PLAYERS IN THE LOCKERROOM AND WOULD BE A GREAT ASSET TO THE TEAM.
WE NEED MORE HIGH PROFILE CELEBRITIES IN MIAMI !

GOOD LUCK TO US ALL ..............JM

[dgshiner]

I still don''t see why everyone is interested in this woman who continues to manipulate the media, and law it is obvious she does not want to be a mother, it is totally obvious that she is a dopster, her family also seems to not be able to grasp on helping either of these girls! The money that they both have has not helped them one bit? ALso I don''t understand why they are supposed to be famous people with sooo much dysfunction in their lives? And everyone just loves to read about this pathetic family?????And people were angry at Dr. Phil? PLEEZE

[kevzgrl]

I never thought I would be defending Kevin Federline, but through all of this, he is the one who has been there for the children consistently, with nothing ANYWHERE about him out drinking and partying with friends until 5am, and belive me, if there WAS something, the photogs and news would trumpet it all over. His ex has never once given ANY hint that he is anything less than a good father to his other two children, while Britney can''t seem to grasp the concept of the children coming first, not her friends and parties and bizzare behaviors - the courts ought to permanently terminate any "rights" this woman has to further screw up those little boy''s lives, and award full legal/physical custody to him, with either NO or very LIMITED and MONITORED visitation for this woman who really isn''t a MOTHER in any sense of the word, only an incubator.

[kevzgrl]

"Earlier Monday, Spears sparked a frenzy around the courthouse. She was brought into a civic center garage in an SUV, but only two of her attorneys got out before the vehicle left"

This isn''t the WHOLE story - the hearing was scheduled to start at 9:30am, on CNN, they showed her showing up AT AROUND 1:30PM, and going into the parking garage - there were shots of her (not just two lawyers) getting out and going into the courthouse, then coming out 15-20 min. later and leaving in the vehicle. Then, getting on the road, making a u-turn and heading for home. THEN, later, coming BACK to the courthouse, which is when she was mobbed by the photogs and left for good. They also said this morning that she told her lawyers that she "JUST WASN''T INTO THIS" which was why she left the first time. As for the going to the church, it''s kinda like the jail-house Christians who "find" God and miraculosly become wonderful people, who you wouldn''t hesitate to welcome into your house...appearance is everything to this spoiled little tramp, so if she goes to church, she MUST be a good person and mother, right???

[jennmarie620]

I don''t understand how a person could not want their children. I have a hard time when my children are spending the night with my parents! I always race over there when I pick them up because I missed being with them and playing with them, and want to hear about all the fun they had with Papa and Nana. How a person can just blow off court dates and custody preceedings is beyond my scope of comprehension - but if she truly does not want to be a mother, then she needs to just let it go and let her ex-husband raise these boys. He obviously cares for them more than she does, and that''s what these boys need: someone to care for them.

[TennMom1]

I don''t buy for a moment that Spears is, as someone here suggested, realizing that she cannot "fight for and care for her boys." That does not explain her "blowing off" participation in the custody hearings, and it sure doesn''t explain why she can''t be bothered with matters pertaining to her children, all the while cavorting around with a "companion", going to malls, etc.

The futures of two children are at stake here. If Spears would rather party, shop, and continue to make herself fodder for the press, than take these issues of custody seriously, she should just sign away her parental rights. I really don''t mean to be cruel, but Spears is either too immature or too sick to realize that her recent actions may not always be remembered by the public, but they will have a lasting psychological impact on her little boys.

[barbaraf4]

She doesn''t want to be a mother; however, she enjoys being pregnant.

I would expect her to get pregnant by her new "companion".

[ladyephesus1]

As much as it may hurt Britney. She needs to leave the country for awhile and recoup.
She needs to get herself together for once and dont come back until shes ready to take this sh*t on.

[previn2]

Perhaps now, she''s realising she''s not in any shape to fight for and care for her boys. Sometimes, you just need to accept that you''re not okay, and if you really love someone, you have to let them go...At least for awhile.

[mrassekh]

Well, okay then. That''s it. She doesn''t want the children. Let''s move on. Nothing to see here.