U.S. court maintains custody ruling against Spears

Pop star Britney Spears will get another chance next month to persuade a court commissioner to restore her visitation rights to see her two little boys.

The 26-year-old singer went to a courthouse on Monday but never made it inside, leaving abruptly amid a swarm of paparazzi without attending a hearing in her child-custody battle with her ex-husband. A new hearing was scheduled for Feb. 19.

Superior Court commissioner Scott Gordon heard a day of closed-door testimony from ex-husband Kevin Federline and witnesses to a bizarre situation this month, when police took the pop singer to a hospital after a standoff in which she refused to return the boys to Federline's bodyguard after a visit.

Gordon ruled that a Jan. 4 emergency order suspending Spears's visitation rights and giving custody to Federline would remain in effect.

"The word victory is not something Mr. Federline or his counsel would ascribe to this. There is no joy. This is a grave situation for all," Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, said outside the courthouse.

Although Federline agreed with the ruling, Kaplan said, "his goal, his hope for the future, is at some point he will be able to parent the children with the participation of their mother."