( dpa ) - A family court judge on Monday refused to grant pop wreck Britney Spears visitation rights to her two sons after a paparazzi-packed hearing that Spears did not attend even though she made it to the courthouse.
Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon left in place a ruling he imposed last week after Spears triggered a police standoff by refusing to hand over one of the children to representatives of her ex-husband Kevin Federline. The order is to remain in force at least until the next hearing, scheduled for February 19.
Spears, 26, was not legally required to attend the hearing, in which Gordon heard police and a court-appointed child monitor testify about the events earlier this month, but she had been expected to appear in court and ask for the reinstatement of her visitation rights for sons Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, prompting a massive stake-out by paparazzi.
They waited all morning outside the courthouse for Spears to show, but when she did turn up in the afternoon, she appeared overwhelmed by the attention and quickly got back into her car and drove off again.
"Move back. I'm scared," Spears pleaded with photographers, according to the celebrity website TMZ.com. "Stop it. Stop it. I want to get back in the car. Just stop it. Let me get in the car, please!" dpa ag ls