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by Mark Silva
As the world (Alaska) turns:
Comes word from the permafrost that the child identified only by pseudonym in an ongoing custody question in Alaska's courts is none other than baby Tripp.
Son of Bristol Palin, teenage daughter of Sarah Palin.
Levi Johnston, estranged father of the former Alaska governor's grandson - Johnston's own mother is under house-arrest for peddling OxyContin -- is seeking custody rights.
Anonymity for the child may serve Tripp's privacy rights, Johnston maintains. But it won't "protect'' him from Sarah Palin, author of Going Rogue. This could be a high-stakes custody battle. She has pulled a few million with that book, and he certainly didn't pose for Playgirl for free.
Cue the music.
Bristol Palin's request to keep the court proceedings closed was denied last week by a Superior Court judge. A temporary order had authorized the use of pseudonyms while the court was considering the request -- no good "could result to the child by an onslaught of media."
Johnston has pushed for open court proceedings, saying he "just wants a simple case on the merits.. I do not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding,'' Johnston stated in an affidavit. "I hope that if it is open she will stay out of it. Bristol's attorney is her attorney."
Bristol Palin's petition for sole custody and child support for the one-year-old Tripp, filed in November, seeks a visitation schedule for Johnston. It also suggests that the photo-spread that Tripp's dad did for Playgirl was "risqué,'' and adds that Johnston's mother, Sherry Johnston, should not be allowed unsupervised visits with the baby following a drug arrest. Sherry Johnston, serving most of a three-year sentence under home confinement, was sentenced last month on one count of possession with intent to deliver the painkiller OxyContin.
Levi Johnston's attorney, Rex Butler, in arguing for an open proceeding has argued that Bristol Palin had not shown what sort of evidence could stigmatize the child: "This case presents a custody case with similar facts that attend open cases every day in the Alaska court system.''
Of course, Bristol Palin already has gone on a national publicity tour promoting teenage abstinence, so it's not like Tripp has much anonymity.
And, as a matter of law, Sue Moss, a partner at Chemtob Moss Forman & Talbert who practices family and matrimonial law, suggests that the Alaskan courts should "let the sunshine'' in.
"The trend across the nation is to let court proceedings be open to the public even when they involve child custody matters,'' Moss says. "In most jurisdictions, unless you can show that the subject child will be specifically harmed, then courts will not close the proceedings and will not use an anonymous caption for the case."
The Associated Press and NBC News contributed to this report.





Comments
Big Feud Down At The Palin Trailer Park!
RUN! LEVI RUN!
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Posted by: Faux News Update! | December 29, 2009 1:27 PM
Levi Johnston: I can just imagine all the cameras that are going to be there – it's going to be crazy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/30/levi-johnston-sarah-palin-custody
the money quotes from the article:
Johnston said he recognised that taking the legal road would be hard. "It's going to be a tough battle. Basically, it's down to who has the better lawyer. I can just imagine all the cameras that are going to be there – it's going to be crazy," he said.
another one:
Johnston admitted to the Guardian that comments he made to Vanity Fair and other outlets calling Palin a distant mother and a political hypocrite were partly made in retaliation. "If they had let me see my kid, I wouldn't have done any of that."
how can you support him?
Posted by: spwbt | December 29, 2009 1:38 PM
Yet another red-neck feud in the land of the free!!!
What's new?
Posted by: jf | December 29, 2009 1:53 PM
Wow...a baby out of wedlock. The estranged father selling drugs but he wants the child.
These people are first class, grade A trailor trash. The whole lot of them. From Quitter and the antiAmerican AIP member, first dude on down. The former first family, what role models.
Posted by: Doug R. | December 29, 2009 1:55 PM
He's a bigger ass than I thought he was. What a loser.
Posted by: pam | December 29, 2009 2:01 PM
And the left supports this Levi guy because he is anti-Palin. No wonder Bill O'Reilly gets away with calling us loons, he just may be correct!
Posted by: NadaSurf2009 | December 29, 2009 2:25 PM
Is that "Dueling Banjos" that I hear down yonder in Alaska, round about the still, near the Palin homestead?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqxzWdKKu8
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Posted by: The Quitta from Wasilla | December 29, 2009 2:28 PM
Just imagine if these Alaskan Hillbillies had gotten into office.. Well, I guess it would have been no different than those who just left the White House.
Posted by: Just Imagine | December 29, 2009 2:34 PM
Its not really hers!!!!! its that devil mother of her's child EEEEEERRRRRGGGGHHHH!!! um wait im confused gonna go lay down. Obama rules
Posted by: Libtard | December 29, 2009 2:43 PM
It sounds like his modeling jobs at Playgirl are not doing very well.
Posted by: Michael Kennedy | December 29, 2009 2:50 PM
Try again Doug. The estranged father is not selling drugs - that would be his mother and that would also have nothing to do with the Palin family now would it? No it would not.
However, your hypocritical essay's of late have gotten more and more obvious. The former first family? would be the Clinton's? I mean, if you're talking sex scandals and trash talk you must be talking about the Clinton's, right?
What with Arkansas littered with trailer trash, I can see the resemblence.
Posted by: springfield | December 29, 2009 2:51 PM
They are giving people who live in trailers a bad name.
Posted by: God Bless America | December 29, 2009 2:53 PM
Maybe they should all go on Jerry Springer. He likes to settle disputes of trailer trash people.
Posted by: Reality | December 29, 2009 2:54 PM
I wonder if John Edwards will represent Levi? Will Levi get counseling from Jesse Jackson?
Posted by: Terry | December 29, 2009 2:55 PM
Sorry Springpatch,
I do not think one can compare the Clinton's the Palin's. No you can not. Chelsea Clinton is much more intelligent and successful than you will ever be. Your fixation for the Clinton's has also been very obvious of late.
You must harbor some sort of jealousness of them. I mean we all wish we could be worth $100 million like Bubba. You betchya.
Posted by: Doug R. | December 29, 2009 3:05 PM
*******************************************
And the left supports this Levi guy because he is anti-Palin. No wonder Bill O'Reilly gets away with calling us loons, he just may be correct!
Posted by: NadaSurf2009 | December 29, 2009 2:25 PM
________________________
No, the 'left' doesn't support either one of them. We just sit, laugh and watch the train wreck that is todays GOP. It's hilarious, almost as funny as watching Comedy Central.
Try again, Teresa....
Posted by: Thank God I'm NOT a Conservative | December 29, 2009 3:17 PM
The best part about all this is that Palin is polling as the leader for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination!!!
HAHAHA!!!
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Posted by: former Republican | December 29, 2009 3:19 PM
Sarah Palin, a grandmother, is looking out for the best interest of her grandchild by allowing this circus to play out in court.
Posted by: strong coffee | December 29, 2009 3:21 PM
I'm not surprised in the least that Crazy Sarah is the most popular figure on the right.
I have learned that if you take the stupidest thing you can possibly think of and triple the stupidity level of it, it's still not as stupid as what NASCAR Nation....oops, sorry.....I mean the GOP base... is capable of.
Here's a video of your average GOP base deadenders - in all their low IQ glory.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKKKgua7wQk
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Posted by: Let's Go Racin'! | December 29, 2009 3:25 PM
Mark Silva,
The paid right wing troll is posting as "Libtard" today.
Everyone has political differences but calling people retarded is going to far out of bounds, don't you think?
Posted by: K | December 29, 2009 3:31 PM
What’s wrong with peddling OxyContin? Rush Limbaugh liked OxyContin.
A lot.
Posted by: Snowbilly | December 29, 2009 3:32 PM
On the question from K: Yes, seems fairly tasteless, but not the most tasteless thing that has crossed the transom. Am spending considerable time on a new policy for civility which will be introduced in the new year. Drawing the line is tough -- don't like to do it, really, but it's time. A Happy and Civil New Year to all
Posted by: Mark Silva | December 29, 2009 3:40 PM
The Palins and Johnstons deserve each other and should have kept their business confined to Alaska where it wouldn't have bothered the rest of us. The stupid round-heeled teenage mother, the hockey-playing skating hormone, the two MILs in waiting...and, now, this innocent baby who has to call them mom, dad and grandma(s). What a sad, messed-up state of affairs!
Posted by: kathryn | December 29, 2009 4:05 PM
Huh? wheres my check? you should loosin the straps on your tinfoil hat MMMMMM K
Posted by: Libtard | December 29, 2009 4:16 PM
And to think this train wreck, of a soap opera could have been, and some still foolish enough to think, our First of Second Family. Just imagine what the wider world would really think of our national sanity.
Posted by: Pat | December 29, 2009 4:25 PM
NadaSurf2009...who on the left supports Levi Johnston of all people. Ick. No one on either side wants to claim that train wreck. I promise you that.
What's sad here is that no one is bothering to think about the best interest of the child...i.e. not making a public fuss over every little thing. Imagine what this kid will learn when he is old enough to read. Sarah Palin seems to consistently forget that she's dealing with a child here...and I don't mean Tripp. (He was 18 when the kid was born, but we all know that a legal adult is far different from an actual one.) Yet she consistently engages in these stupid name-calling, character-smearing games. Levi is an idiot. Period. If he ever cared about that kid he woudl have taken the time to be a real dad and not take the first 15 minute bus trip to Hollywood. Bottom line...no one is thinking about this kid and no one is thinking about creating what could resemble a family. You can't tout family values and then wipe your nose with them at the same time. This is not a political thing. It's a human thing.
Posted by: Cheryl | December 29, 2009 4:27 PM
I don't get your thinking at all, Cheryl. Palin WANTED the custody dispute to stay private and protected from public scrutiny through anonymity and pseudonyms. How is that engaging in ANY kind of games? Levi Johnston is the one who wanted this out in the public and even he admits that the media furor will damage his child yet he was SO afraid of Palin's lawyers that he says he just had to do it. Sure. Seems to me that to Palin-haters she's damned if she does or doesn't. Aside from asking that the matter stay of the public domain I can't see how there was anything else she could have done.
Posted by: Jeff | December 29, 2009 5:47 PM
I am not excusing Bristol's and Levi's "mistake," but then Levi has done nothing to endear himself either. He has sought fame and fortune and has not parental guidance. My son sure as heck would not be acting this way.
Anyway, it's funny to see all the condemnation from those on the Left when they have such wonderful people like John Edwards, Barney Frank, Gary Condit, Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Eliot Spitzer, Max Baucus (Mark, where has been the Swamp stuff on Baucus employing his girlfriend, tryint to get her named as Federal prosecutor for Montana and the while was married??) and a littany of other Democrats and their affairs and children out of wedlock. Sure, we have our Mark Sanford, Mark Foley, David Vitter and John Ensign. Difference is, Republicans generally condemn them just as they do wayward Democrats.
By the way, Mark, is Libtard any worse than Repukelican, Repuke, Prepuke, Teabagger, Terry is a girl's name or Janet's repeated refrain that I apparently have poop in my pants???? My Loony Left is quite mild compared to that stuff!
Posted by: John D, still right, as usual | December 29, 2009 6:16 PM
People still can't get enough of the Palins--Guess they really did scare the kool-aid drinkers! Certainly 2 terrorist attacks have not. Go figure. Dummycrats!
Posted by: Jo | December 29, 2009 6:44 PM
The people that are calling Palin trash are the ones who helped put Obama in the White House.
Now that's comedy right there!
Posted by: Mal | December 29, 2009 7:35 PM
Oh please oh please oh please, Sarah Palin, PLEASE run for President in 2012. We'll surely need some highfalutin' comic relief by then.
Posted by: Rick A | December 29, 2009 8:36 PM
This young man...is amazing!
Definitely a reason to change one's mind about not being pro-choice. He is one that obviously should have been decided against carrying to term.
I have always been pro-life but I guess there ARE exceptions, aren't there?
Posted by: Jon | December 30, 2009 12:20 AM
Karl Rove gets a divorce and Sarah Palin's out of wedlock grandchild is in a custody battle! Is this Ole Time Family Values?
Posted by: ksdksdksd | December 30, 2009 6:14 AM
Bristol and Levi seem like nice people, and they have a beautiful baby. I think they should get out of Alaska, maybe move to LA, and raise the baby together. They have way too much parental interference.
Posted by: Barrett | December 30, 2009 12:03 PM
First off this is just sad. And to all you liberal scum sacks that want this to be public and are happy that it is know that if this was a liberal or a Democrat you would be calling for the head of the judge that made it public. Don't lie to me and say no it's fair because we all know it is not fair. You can make fun of Palin's kids and say that she brought it on to them but, when Al Gore's son got busted for drunk driving he was off limits. When Chelsea Clinton gets up and makes political speeches for her mother and is criticized she is off limits. Is it me am I the only one that sees the double standard or how liberals have learned to talk out of both sides of their mouth at the same time. Hypocrites!!!! I used think that the kids were off limits but, now I have no problem using the Liberals own rules. Where nobody is off-limits including kids. I do have my own rules about this and that is I always look at their age I know liberals would attack a newborn (they have), pre-teens (they have), or the handicap (they have) but, I cannot.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | December 30, 2009 5:22 PM
Has any conservative individual weighing in on Levi Johnson considered that he posed for Playgirl, even though he would be the furthest thing from eye-candy, in-order to get back at the grandmother and mother of his child? Have any of you considered that he might not have been seeking fame as much as a fair share in raising his child? Publicity stunts to draw attention to a new movie, new gadget, or new feed the children initiative work in much the same way. I don't know everything there is to know about this family personally (in-spite of Greta's attempts, but I know a lot about what chilli I will not be having) so I think the safest bet is to allow these two mini-adult parents, with Acce$$ Hollywood and $tar magazine a phone c$all away, to prepare to emulate the high-end, drawn-out, and nasty celebrity custody battle ala Anna Nicole in a court of law. Hopefully, a third party, like a judge (but more stable then the one in just said celebrity case), might be able to give all parities involved a much needed stern talking too. You can tell that neither side is aware of the seriousness involved in bringing a life into the world, or the fragility surrounding the life in question. There are people who would short of kill to have a semi-conscious willing parent involved in their single-parent life, and there are people who have completely lost their kids over the mistakes they made. I don't think rich kids, like white kids, should be given any special treatment for their illegal acts (mother of the child) or questionable judgment (father of the child), but these brats are just that: BRATS. How sad that there is no male figure in the family who could have interjected before the show. You can quit a career but you can't quit the life you created for yourself. I'm sure that the God-fearing abstinence pushing mini-parents and their parents have repeatedly tried mediation for all parties involved, or sought several rounds of religious counseling before attempting to cancel each other out of that baby's life.
Posted by: Phil McGraw | December 30, 2009 8:19 PM
Tripp has blue eyes. Don't Bristol and Levi both have brown eyes? It's possible--25% or so. Was paternaty ever established for Levi?
*
Tripp's privacy rights were a bit in question ever since Palin marched Bristol up on the campaign stage. Remember all the shots of Bristol Palin carrying a wadded-up blanket in front of her then pregnant abdomen as she walked five paces behind her mother? Pitbull Palin makes Mommy Dearest look like Mary Poppins.
Posted by: Vivian | December 30, 2009 11:48 PM
Vivian please try not to go down the nutty road. If you do all your future post will be looked at in that way.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | December 31, 2009 2:17 PM
Crooks--nutty? Just stating what there is for all to observe. Levi prolly should request a paternaty test. And, Palin did seem to lean very hard on her children during the campaign. I've never been a fan of dog and pony shows involving politicians and their kids. Are you working for Palin now?
Posted by: Vivian | December 31, 2009 6:50 PM
Vivian I was thinking you were going to say that her dad is the father (incest). Did not Levi say he was the father? The test would clear up any doubt and shut down the left-wing rumor mill. And no I do not work for Palin. And the possibility that the eyes of a child matching their parents is only about 50-50. My wife works in genetics what the children get from their parents when it is concerning their eyes is how good or bad their vision is. So I understand now why you are bringing up the testing. I was thinking you were going to go down the incest or it's not her baby road, Sorry.
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | January 1, 2010 6:43 PM
There's really not much to see here. The judge will see a credibility issue with Levi. Johnston's mother's drug conviction will be a monkey wrench for Levi. And eventually the judge will rule like they always do in a case of a child with a mother who comes from a stable environment and a father who has exhibited some questionable behavior, especially posing for playgirl and making vague threats to the child's grandmother's reputation.
It's a no brainer. The court will rule full custody to Bristol with visitation rights to Levi. And child support.
Those on the left looking to use this as part of their smear campaign against Sarah Palin need to think twice about using Levi as their poster child. They already have Gryphen, and you can see how well that's working out for them (bogus divorces, non-existent federal indictments, etc.)
Posted by: ReaganTMan | January 3, 2010 1:02 PM