Judge Upholds Simpson Custody Ruling

A judge Friday refused to stay an order awarding O.J. Simpson full custody of his children, a ruling that allows Simpson’s son and daughter to remain with him.

Louis and Juditha Brown, parents of the late Nicole Brown Simpson, had cared for the children from Simpson’s arrest in 1994 until Dec. 20, when Judge Nancy Wieben Stock ruled in Simpson’s favor.

After the long custody battle, the judge said the Browns had failed to show that Simpson “would be clearly detrimental to their well-being.” Sydney, 11, and Justin, 8, have been with Simpson since. Simpson currently is embroiled in civil lawsuits with the families of his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman, who were slain in 1994. A jury found Simpson innocent of the murders.

At a closed-door hearing Friday, the judge turned down the Browns’ request for a stay of the custody ruling, a move that would have given Sydney and Justin back to them pending an appeal.

“We’re pleading with this judge and she’s not listening,” said Denise Brown, Nicole Simpson’s sister. “She doesn’t have a heart.”

Bernard Leckie, a lawyer for Simpson, said that the motion was without merit and that Sydney and Justin are happy with their father. “Their both doing very well. They love him very, very much. That’s where they want to be,” Leckie said.