Court fails to rule on Spears’ request for overnight visits

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A court commissioner granted lawyers for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline more time to discuss Spears’ visitation with their children — then abruptly ended a custody hearing Thursday without ruling on whether the troubled singer should be allowed to have overnight visits.

After a closed-door hearing in his chambers — which itself followed a 45-minute recess — Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon said the attorneys needed more time to confer on the matter.

It was unclear whether the lawyers would continue discussions elsewhere Thursday.Deputies escorted them out of the courtroom and to a back staircase after the hearing.

Spears’ attorney, Anne Kiley, had requested Thursday’s emergency session in an effort to win overnight visits for the pop star who lost custody of her children Oct. 1.

Kiley argued during an open session of the hearing that overnight visits are critical for Spears to bond with her sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James.

“I do think it is an emergency for them not to have overnights with their mother, which they’ve always had,” Kiley said. “What possible concern can he [Federline] have if there are monitors present?”

Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told Gordon it was frustrating that Spears’ lawyers would return to court and try to change Gordon’s Oct. 1 custody order so soon after it was issued.

When he took the children away, Gordon said Spears had engaged in “habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol.” He ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week and have a monitor present when she does visit with her children.