Dad Gains Legal Custody Of Britney
The father of pop singer Britney Spears was named her temporary conservator Friday, putting him in control of her welfare a day after she was whisked to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
While James Spears was named conservator of the troubled pop star herself, he and an attorney, Andrew Wallete, were named conservators of her estate. The singer's mother, Lynne Spears, also showed up for the unannounced hearing in Superior Court.
The court also issued a restraining order against Britney Spears' sometimes manager and friend, Sam Lutfi, and gave permission to change the locks on her estate and remove anyone who is there.
A court creates conservatorships when a person cannot care for themselves or handle their affairs. Commissioner Reva Goetz said Spears would be under conservatorship until Feb. 4, at which time another hearing will be held.
"It is in the best interests of the conservatee to have conservatorship over her person," Goetz told a packed courtroom.
The conservator will have the power to "restrict visitors," have around-the-clock security for Spears, and have access to all medical records, Goetz said.
Goetz said conservatorship over the estate was "necessary and appropriate." She gave approval for the conservator to "take all actions to secure all liquid assets including credit cards."
Lynne Spears and James Spears, his eyes very red, entered a Superior Court room without commenting to reporters.
"There is a conservatorship filing" and a hearing was scheduled, court spokesman Allan Parachini said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He gave no details, including who made the filing.
The parents arrived at late morning and sat in the back of Commissioner Reva Goetz's courtroom while attorneys showed a thick stack of paperwork to the clerk and had a whispered discussion. Goetz handles probate matters.
Photos: Britney Goes To Court
The commissioner said she could not look at anything until 1:30 p.m. PST, after the noon lunch break.
Photos: Star Treatment
The attorneys said nothing to reporters.
The appearance was in a different court than the one handling a custody dispute over the singer's children.
Paramedics with a heavy police escort took the troubled pop star from her home to UCLA Medical Center's psychiatric hospital early Thursday.
It was the second hospitalization this year for the 26-year-old singer, who has been in spiral of bizarre behavior since November 2006, when she filed for divorce from Kevin Federline, the father of her sons, 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported that the police cars, motorcycles and helicopter that helped get the singer to the hospital cost the Los Angeles Police Department an estimated $25,000, though a police spokeswoman would not confirm that figure.
Police officials have defended the motorcade, saying it was provided to get Spears through a paparazzi swarm without endangering her or the public.
CBS News correspondent Hattie Kauffman reported Friday that police had tried to fool the paparazzi, by code-naming Britney "the package."
"If they start saying, 'Britney Spears is on her way to the hospital,' and somebody is listening to the police radio, bam, everything changes," Harvey Levin of TMZ.com told her.
Because paparazzi photographers trail Spears' every public move, she is forced to conduct almost all of her life in the equivalent of a moving fish bowl. As the world has watched, her behavior has gotten increasingly erratic.
In an interview on The Early Show Friday, clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere, said Spears appears to be in a deep depression.
"As black or as dark as any day we've had, it doesn't even begin to compare to what she is experiencing," he said.
"She's been up reportedly for three, four days at a time, especially this last time. So as part of this manic phase, she's probably delusional, extremely depressed, probably about to crash."
Gardere says Spears' condition is treatable.
"This is treatable. She's being detoxified, which is a good thing. The parents wanted that. But most importantly, there are medications out there to treat whatever it is that's going on with her. The problem is, if it is bipolar disorder, a lot of folks don't like to take their medications."