Britney Spears loses children due to non-compliance

BRITNEY Spears lost custody of her two sons because she did not take a random drug and alcohol test as ordered by a judge, her laywer confirmed today.

The troubled singer's lawyer Sorrell Trope said her failure to get a California driving licence by the judge's deadline was also a factor in the court's decision to grant sole custody to her ex-husband Kevin Federline for an indefinite period.

"We weren't able to prove compliance with what the judge ordered," Trope said.

Spears' friend Sam Lufti said she was "very optimistic" she would get her sons back once she was granted a drivers licence.

After a closed-court hearing yesterday, LA Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordona ordered that Federline get physical custody of Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, "until further order of the court".

Judge Gordona did not outline his reasons in the written ruling.

The popstar's lawyer said the emergency hearing took place after "a claim by Mr Federline's attorney that she had not complied with a previous order the court had made about having a random drug and alcohol test".

"There's no evidence that she actually failed a test," Trope said.

Under Californian law, failure to take a court-ordered drug test is considered to be the same as not passing the test.

"Scheduling conflicts and errors in communication led her to believe that her deadline was later this week rather than Monday," Lufti said.

"However, once we finally realised what was going on,we completed the list of tasks.

"So everything's looking good."

Spears, who is facing a charges of driving without a valid licence, began the process of applying for a licence on Monday following the court ruling.

Source: www.news.com.au