Friday, October 12, 2007

Small victory for Britney in child custody battle

Small victory for Britney in child custody battle
Washington, Oct 12: Britney Spears has notched a small victory in her child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, by winning the modified visitation rules, that allow her two sons to spend the night with her once a week, as long as they are accompanied by a court-sanctioned monitor.

Spears made her first court appearance on Oct 11, pleading with a Los Angeles judge to be granted more time with her two sons.

Spears` attorney had filed an emergency motion on Oct 10 seeking to expand the singer`s visitation rights. Mark Vincent Kaplan, the lawyer for Kevin Federline, said he "voluntarily agreed" to allow the elongated visit but refused to offer any other specifics.

The ‘Toxic’ singer made an in-person appeal two hours after Los Angeles Court Commissioner Scott Gordon initially refused to change the custody arrangements. Spears spent an hour answering the judge`s questions, following which Gordon apparently had a change of heart, as reported.

Under Gordon`s current order, Spears is required to have a monitor with her at all times when she is in the presence of her sons. If the supervisor determines that any behaviour Spears exhibits endanger her children or be simply inappropriate, her visits may be cut short.

Both Spears and Federline must appear in court together at a further hearing on October 26, Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said. Gordon, who had earlier deemed Spears a "habitual, frequent and continuous user" of alcohol and controlled substances, temporarily stripped her of custody last week after she failed to abide by his terms, including submitting to random drug testing and showing proof of a California driver`s license.

Since then, Spears has passed both drug tests and her driver`s license exam and was counting on that to expand her visitation rights.

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