LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears wants to seal all court papers in her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline over their two small sons.
Lawyer Laura Wasser filed a motion Friday asking a Superior Court commissioner to make permanent a conditional order to seal all documents dealing with custody. It was filed in response to a motion by People magazine and TV station seeking to unseal some of the papers.
"This is the perfect instance to stop the madness,'' Wasser said in court. Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan agreed with Wasser's motion.
Commissioner Scott Gordon heard arguments Friday, but put off ruling on the issue until a hearing set for Monday on Federline's request to gain a bigger share of custody.
Representing People and KNBC-TV, lawyer Alonzo Wickers cited a pair of cases that he said show family law documents, even those involving custody, need not be kept entirely private.
"No statute says custody-related documents should be broadly sealed,'' Wickers said.
The singer married Federline in October 2004. She filed for divorce last November and the divorce became official July 30.
The two have joint custody of sons Sean Preston, who turned two Friday, and Jayden James, who turned one Wednesday.
