CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Mother Forbidden to Smoke at Home

A Superior Court judge in a child-custody suit has ordered the mother of a 5-year-old boy not to smoke in the child’s presence with their home. Judge David Stirling issued the order after the boy’s father, Manfred Kallweit, complained that smoking by Anna Maria De Benzi Souza poses health risks to their son. Kallweit, who shares custody of the boy, asked Stirling to impose the smoking ban after De Benzi Souza petitioned for sole custody. De Benzi Souza, who described herself as a light smoker, questioned the court’s right to dictate her behavior in her home. “This is not Russia, right?” she asked. A tobacco industry spokesman said he will ask lawyers to look into Stirling’s ruling.