Britney Spears vs. Kevin Federline--I Never Thought It Would Come to This
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By Jeremy Eugene Reed in General Published: Monday, 14 January 08 - 07:23 PM (GMT) |
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This causes me great pain. I was hoping to go my entire life without ever having to have a serious discussion about this subject. However, the subject has wandered into the area of men’s rights, and I find myself with the unenviable task at hand. That’s right, I am going to write about Britney Spears and her ex husband, Kevin Federline. While it is fairly common knowledge that Britney Spears has been traveling the Anna Nicole, Dana Plato, Danny Bonaduce, Todd Bridges, and all the other child stars who were unable to deal with the fame achieved as children. Now, arguably, she has reached adulthood, and has remained famous. But I digress. The reason I am writing about this is in regards to the recent custody problem that Mr. Federline faced in retrieving his children from Ms. Spears.
As this AP story shows, she would not give the children back, despite a court order requiring her to do so. See the article here. Here is the part that I found amazing. A police spokesperson said that no actual crime was involved, so Spears was not charged. I think that this is a blatantly false statement. There is clearly a case to be made for parental kidnapping. From PARENTAL KIDNAPPING: PREVENTION AND REMEDIES by Patricia M. Hoff, the definition of parental kidnapping is “the taking, retention or concealment of a child by a parent, other family member, or their agent, in derogation of the custody rights, including visitation rights, of another parent or family member.” See the entire document on parental kidnapping here. The incident involving Ms. Spears seems to fall directly into the category of retention of children in derogation of custody rights. My point isn’t so much that Ms. Spears should be charged. My point is that had this situation been reversed, I have no doubt that Mr. Federline would be charged with parental kidnapping, obstruction of a peace officer, domestic violence, false imprisonment, and any number of other crimes. The only difference I can see is that Mr. Federline is male, while Ms. Spears is a female. (At some point, it could have been argued that Ms. Spears had all the talent in the relationship, but at this point her capacity to do stupid things has spent all the talent capital she had.)
I bring this up because of some talk I have heard on various “news” shows. Particularly, Nancy Grace seemed upset that Federline would get access to the children while Spears lost custody (at least temporarily.) Now, I am not a Nancy Grace fan. (I do admit to watching her show occasionally, but as a person dedicated to the legal system, some of the things she says and advocates are simply to much for me to take-while lots are guilty, some are not, and as a lawyer she should at least give this concept lip service-but again, I digress.) Nancy was horrified that Britney Spears would lose all even visitation rights to her children. While she was involuntarily committed. A strange stance to take. I have no doubts that if it were Kevin Federline who refused to return his children after a visit, Nancy Grace would be calling for the firing squad.
Now, all this being said, I want to be clear that I am no Kevin Federline fan. I frankly think that both people in that relationship are clearly two of the more ridiculous characters out there. And if the allegations that he does not care for his other children is true, I certainly can’t support that. However, in the case making headlines, I have seen nothing from him that would make me think he is incapable of caring for the children, and lots of evidence that Ms. Spears should perhaps have limited contact at this point. Refusal to follow a court order, barricading oneself inside the home, refusing lawfully given police orders, are all indications of mental instability, or a total disregard for all authority. In either instance, the underlying problem should be cured before unfettered access to children is given.
Now, I hope that is the last time I ever have to write about those two. I am going to go wash my hands as they feel oddly sticky after writing this post.
6 Comments so far: |
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| Britney Spears | Mattress | 01/14/08 |
| reversal of fortune?!? | all knowing | 01/15/08 |
If it is true that he cares for his othe (...)
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Jeremy Reed | 01/17/08 |
| It's NOT the gender, stupid. | Dawn Elaine Bowie, Esq. | 01/22/08 |
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Agreed
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Jeremy Reed | 01/22/08 |
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Do we really need to call people stupid? (...)
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Matthew Kring | 03/13/08 |
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Top | Reply to this Title: Britney Spears Author: Mattress (http://www.sleepys.com) Date Posted: 14 Jan 2008 08:10 PM (GMT) Great Article. Very Obvious who diserves custody, |
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Top | Reply to this Title: reversal of fortune?!? Author: all knowing Date Posted: 15 Jan 2008 08:47 PM (GMT) As a friend of both Britney & Kevin's for a few years I would like to say that I agree with your statements, that if the tables were turned, Kevin would have most definitely been brought up on charges. As for the comment that he does not care about his other 2 children, that is completely false. He spends every weekend with all 4 of his children and unlike Britney, he does not parade them around town. He likes his privacy and spends time with them at his home or evading the paparazzi....yes it is possible, Britney just doesn't want to admit that it is possible. She's a fame whore. |
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Top | Reply to this Author: Jeremy Reed 
(http://mrmensrights.terapad.com/)Date Posted: 17 Jan 2008 04:02 AM (GMT) If it is true that he cares for his other children, then frankly I take no issue with him-I only hear what I am forced to hear as this story has qualified as news. (I am not a fan of publicizing every aspect of anyones life, and think many of the problems we are seeing here are directly caused by invasive media reporting.) Thanks for your comments, I hope that you continue to visit my blog and keep commenting. |
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Top | Reply to this Title: It's NOT the gender, stupid. Author: Dawn Elaine Bowie, Esq. (http://www.marylandfathersrights.com) Date Posted: 22 Jan 2008 02:17 AM (GMT) Brittney and K Fed are, neither of them, the best candidates for parenthood. If they required licenses, there is no doubt the two of them would be at the tail end of a very long line. But we don't require licenses. We don't require anything but biology. So now, the same drama that plays out all over the country in local courthouses in small towns and suburbs and big cities where woefully unprepared babies are having babies is getting a lot of press in national news. Gender? Sure, it plays a part. But the real problem is, neither one of them seems to be a very good candidate. This couple reminds me of a few cases I've had where I secretly wished the judge would find BOTH parents unfit, and give the kids to someone who cared. Everyone is so hyped on whether it's Brittney or K Fed that deserves the kids, nobody is paying attention to the kids. None of us really knows how these folks live, but I'd put money on the fact that neither one of them knows how to change a diaper. Neither one of them stayed up all night, with a colicky baby, rocking, and rocking and rocking. Or driving from here to Timbucktu so the other could catch a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. And that's what makes a mommy, or a daddy. Personally, I don't care about either one of these spoiled, selfish children. But like caring parents everywhere, mother or father, my heart goes out to the babies.
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Top | Reply to this Title: Agreed Author: Jeremy Reed (http://mrmensrights.terapad.com/) Date Posted: 22 Jan 2008 08:04 AM (GMT) Hi Elaine, thanks for your comment. I agree with you that neither person here is a very good candidate for parenthood, and I have said for a long time that it should be harder to be a parent than to operate a motor vehicle. That being said, my original post is geared more toward the statement that no crime was committed when Britney refused to return the children as ordered. I am sure that if your clients told you that they were going to engage in this type of behavior, you would insist that they stop and return the children as agreed (Barring exigent circumstances). I hope that you keep checking back, and I look forward to more comments from you. (Even if you keep calling me stupid-LOL.) |
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Top | Reply to this Author: Matthew Kring Date Posted: 13 Mar 2008 06:34 PM (GMT) Do we really need to call people stupid? Aren't you a lawyer? I would think that someone with your education would better be able to articulate an argument than resulting to juvenile name calling. You title your comment "It's not gender", and then right in the paragraph, that gender does play a part. I think Gender plays a huge part because we put both men and women in a box of the behavior we think each are capable of, and when the roles are reversed, we have a hard time coming to terms that neither party fits in the box we have put them in. |
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