California Family Law Blog

Mel Gibson has continued to make his own accusations against his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva's claims of domestic violence, formally filing a complaint of extortion with Sheriff's officials on Sunday. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gibson also provided evidence at that time to support his extortion accusations. Reportedly, Gibson was in possession of e-mails and text messages from Grigorieva that allegedly demonstrate extortion.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Grigorieva allegedly sought a multi-million dollar payout when the two broke up. Gibson claims that Grigorieva tried to extort him through threatening to make public accusations of domestic violence and the tapes that she secretly recorded of their heated arguments during the height of their custody dispute over their daughter. 

On Tuesday, an Orange County family court judge granted physical custody to Jesse James of his daughter, Sunny. Since he has physical custody, he also has permission from the court for parental relocation to Texas and permission to bring Sunny with him. The judge said that he based his decision on what would be in Sunny's best interest by considering the bond she has with her siblings that live with her father and the fact that she is currently doing well in her father's care.

Sunny's mom is James' ex-wife, ex-porn star Janine Lindemulder. Lindemulder has had drug problems and problems with the law and was recently released from a halfway house. The judge ruled that Lindemulder will have legal custody with child visitation rights, while James will have physical custody. Lindemulder will be able to see Sunny once a month in California and will share summer and holiday breaks with James. The judge ruled that Lindemulder was off drugs, but was still in a fragile state where she might make poor decisions.

An official with the Los Angeles County sheriff's department announced Wednesday that sheriff's detectives are expanding their investigation into whether Mel Gibson committed domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva. They are now looking into whether his ex-girlfriend tried to extort money from him in regards to the domestic violence allegations.

Grigorieva secretly recorded phone arguments between herself and Gibson while they were in the midst of a volatile break-up and custody dispute. The couple has an infant daughter and have been fighting for custody rights of the child. The secret recordings were involved in closed-door court hearings for the custody dispute. The tapes were also obtained by the website Radar Online and made public. On the tapes, Gibson can be heard using derogatory terms for women and racial slurs. He also seems to admit to hitting Grigorieva while she was holding their daughter.

The Orange County Register reports that a panel of appellate court judges ruled Tuesday that an Orange County woman can temporarily retain custody of her 2-year-old adoptive daughter, Vanessa. Stacey Doss of Rancho Santa Margarita began the process of adopting Vanessa soon after she was born in Ohio. The adoption process has not come to completion, however, because of paternity claims by Vanessa's biological father, Benjamin Mills, Jr. Both are now fighting for permanent custody of Vanessa, a contentious dispute that has gained national attention.  

When Doss began the adoption process, she was told by Vanessa's birth mother that she had become pregnant with Vanessa after a one-night stand. She had other children with Mills, but told Doss he was not the father of Vanessa. Later, genetic tests proved that Mills was the biological father. Vanessa's mother and Mills had a turbulent relationship, and Mills served 18 years in an Ohio prison for domestic violence. Mills has had his driver's license suspended for failure to pay child support.

A new tape obtained and made public by the website Radar Online purportedly features an argument that took place over the phone between Mel Gibson and his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva during which Gibson seems to admit to domestic violence. During the argument, Grigorieva asks Gibson what kind of man would hit the mother of his child in the face while she was holding their child, breaking her teeth. Gibson responds by yelling that she deserved it.

The former couple have an 8-month-old daughter. At the time of Grigorieva's taping of the arguments they were locked in a contentious child custody dispute over the infant. Gibson is currently under investigation for the domestic violence allegations by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's officials say that they will consider the tapes as potential evidence in their investigation. At the conclusion of their investigation, they will turn their findings over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, which will decide whether to pursue charges.

Actor Mel Gibson is under investigation by sheriff's officials for domestic violence. His ex-girlfriend, Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva, has accused Gibson of attacking her last January 6. The couple has been involved in a contentious custody dispute over their 8-month-old daughter.

TMZ obtained audio tapes that had been secretly recorded by Oksana during a fight between the couple. Gibson can be heard on the tape screaming obscenities and racist and sexist slurs. The tapes were made during the break-up and custody battle and before the couple reached their custody agreement through a mediator in May.  

The Associated Press is reporting that the marriage of Sandra Bullock and Jesse James is officially over. After accounts of infidelities were widely reported in the media, Bullock filed for divorce from James in April, citing "discord or conflict of personalities." A court in Texas finalized the divorce on Monday.

Bullock and James met in 2003 and were married in 2005. Bullock was experiencing a career high last spring. She won a string of awards for her starring acting role in "The Blind Side." Ten days after she won an Oscar for that role, reports surfaced in the tabloids that James had been unfaithful. She had thanked James during awards show speeches for helping her with her career and "having her back," only to find he allegedly had had affairs while she was away filming the Oscar-winning film. James publicly apologized to Bullock and his three children from a previous relationship, for who Bullock had been a devoted stepmom.

Attorneys for Bruce Beresford-Redman say that their client will fight his extradition to Mexico where a warrant has been issued for his arrest on charges that he killed his wife in an act of domestic violence. A judge in Mexico issued the warrant on May 31 for the former "Survivor" producer. Last week, Mexican authorities told The Associated Press that they had officially asked the U.S. State Department to extradite Beresford-Redman.

Now, the State Department will review the facts of the case provided by Mexican authorities and decide whether to authorize the request. Beresford-Redman's attorneys have said their client will surrender to the U.S. government if that happens, but are fighting extradition for now. Beresford-Redman has said he had nothing to do with his wife's death.

A recent article by the Associated Press brings to light the trouble some parents who use marijuana medically can have winning equal child visitation rights. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for over 10 years, but it remains a shady area of the law, and that includes how a parent's medical marijuana use plays into a judge's child custody decisions.

Medical marijuana laws protect people using marijuana from criminal charges, but courts may still view patients as less fit parents because of their drug use. Many parents with medical marijuana prescriptions are allowed only supervised visits with their children. Patients using the drug for medical reasons say that it does not make them less fit and that it shouldn't cause them to lose their visitation rights if there's no evidence of drug abuse. 

Closing arguments for California's same-sex marriage trial began today in a federal courtroom in San Francisco. The 2 1/2 week trial began in January, but was delayed over procedural issues until now. The trial seeks to determine whether marriage is a fundamental constitutional right for all people and whether it is being illegally denied to gays and lesbians through the passage of Proposition 8.

The ballot measure Proposition 8 was passed by voters last fall in response to a decision by the California Supreme Court that said it was discriminatory to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. In the six months between the state Supreme Court's decision and the passage of Prop 8, 18,000 same-sex couples went from being domestic partners to legally married couples in California.