LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears quietly arrived in court Tuesday and was sworn in for her child-custody hearing, a departure from the spectacle of previous appearances that included screaming fans with banners, frenzied paparazzi and the troubled pop star dressed in cocktail-party attire.
Wearing a brown polka-dot dress and white sweater, a somber Spears entered the courtroom flanked by a handful of people, including her parents and attorneys. Ex-husband Kevin Federline arrived about 15 minutes later in a beige pinstriped suit with attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan and spokesman Elliot Mintz.
Moments after Commissioner Scott Gordon swore them in, Spears attorney Stacy Phillips asked that the hearing be closed, and Gordon ordered reporters to leave.
Both Spears and Federline re-emerged a short time later for a break and went to separate rooms. Spears walked hand-in-hand with attorney Blair Berk, speaking in a low voice as they got into an elevator.
The dozens of people who witnessed Spears' courthouse arrival as a front-seat passenger in a white Land Rover waited outside. But even this collection of photographers, reporters, sheriff's deputies and prospective jurors didn't compare to the circus that surrounded Spears' January trip to the courthouse, when she arrived in a black minidress and gold platform shoes, then left before the hearing began.
It's been three months since Spears left a psychiatric ward a week ahead of schedule and stirred up a paparazzi car chase, a scene that looked like the beginning of even more erratic behavior. But in the weeks that followed, she lay low and largely avoided the cameras, spent time with family members and even found success in a cameo appearance on on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother."
During that time, the 26-year-old pop star has been under the conservatorship of her father. The court-ordered arrangement put James Spears in control of his daughter's personal and financial affairs.
Federline has had full custody of his two sons by Spears, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James, since January, when police were called to Spears' home after she refused to relinquish one of the boys to a Federline bodyguard. Spears was taken by ambulance to UCLA Medical Center.
Her visitation rights were suspended at the time, but have been gradually restored in recent months. Tuesday's hearing was to include discussion of a psychiatrist's evaluation of Spears, a person close to the case told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and requested anonymity.
Gordon could modify the couple's visitation agreement Tuesday based on Spears' recent conduct, the person said.
Spears was a constant media presence before the conservatorship took effect. Photographers captured her every visit to Starbucks and gas stations around Los Angeles, and documented a bout of bizarre behavior that included appearing in public without underwear, shaving her own head and beating a car with an umbrella.
Since James Spears took over her affairs, the pop star has been relatively invisible to photographers, only occasionally snapped shopping or having dinner with her mother, Lynne. A traffic accident last month turned out to be a minor bump in which no one was injured, and for which no one was cited.
Spears' public appearances have been limited to a well-received cameo on "How I Met Your Mother," a role she reprised during a taping last week, a CBS spokeswoman said. The episode is set to air May 12.
"We're thrilled to have Britney joining us once again," series executive producer and co-creator Craig Thomas said in a statement last month. The show's audience increased by a million viewers the week Spears appeared.
The pop star also made news last month when she took on full-time exercise and nutrition coaches from Bally Total Fitness. Once known for her flawless figure, Spears was widely ridiculed for her flabby form in September during a universally panned performance on the MTV Video Music Awards that was meant to herald her comeback.
Spears has been elusive at recent court hearings, her every anticipated appearance drawing a circus of media and paparazzi. A lawyer for Federline said the spectacle of her arrival in January — and subsequent quick departure — may have played a role in the commissioner's decision that she remain barred from seeing her sons. Federline has allowed Spears limited visitation rights since Feb. 22.
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