Funds Sought for Browns in Simpson Custody Case

Civil rights attorney Gloria Allred made a public appeal Friday for contributions on behalf of Louis and Juditha Brown, who are fighting for permanent custody of O.J. Simpson’s two young children.

Sydney, 10, and Justin, 8, have been living with their grandparents in Dana Point since 1994, when their mother was slain and their father was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Allred, who is not representing the Brown family, said she was making her appeal as “a person who cares about the Browns.”.

Earlier this week, Orange County attorneys Saul Gelbart and Eleanor A. Stegmeier, who were representing the Browns, left the custody case after the family could no longer afford the legal fees.

Allred described the situation as “very serious” but declined to discuss the Browns’ finances.

“If they could afford the legal fees and costs, I wouldn’t feel it was necessary to make an appeal to the public,” Allred said.

She said that to date, the Browns have incurred an estimated $100,000 in legal fees.

Allred said she could not take on the Browns’ case herself, but she declined to elaborate.

The custody case was being heard in family court in Orange. On Sept. 18, Commissioner Thomas H. Schulte halted a pretrial proceeding to determine temporary custody of the children and issued a gag order barring participants from talking to the media. The children will remain with the Browns at least until the trial starts in November.

Orange County court officials said Friday that the custody case was being transferred from Schulte to Superior Court Judge Nancy Wiebenstock in Fullerton.

It was a year ago this week that Simpson was acquitted in the slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman.

Irvine attorney Bernard A. Leckie, who represents Simpson in the custody case, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

But Fullerton attorney Marjorie G. Fuller, who was appointed by the court to represent the children, criticized Allred’s tactics.

“One of the things that I think is the most disruptive and harmful to my clients--the children--is to have their privacy invaded and to have this matter discussed and debated in the press,” Fuller said.