Court: Britney's Deposition Won't Be Videotaped

Britney Spears will not be videotaped for her pending deposition, L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon ruled Friday morning.

Thomas Dunlap, Spears's lawyer, successfully argued that a potential leak of such a video to the Internet would cause "undue embarrassment" for the pop star.

Attorneys for Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline appeared in court ahead of their scheduled 1:30 p.m. hearing to argue the deposition matter. The ex-couple are set to face each other in court for the first time Friday afternoon for a progress-report hearing in their custody battle.

At the morning hearing, Federline's counsel, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told the court that he had asked Spears's attorneys "on four occasions" to schedule the deposition. "I ask the court to please order [Spears] to show for deposition," Kaplan said. "We've been trying for almost one year."

The commissioner told both sides to confer and set a date.

The deposition, taken under oath, is part of Kaplan's evidence-gathering to convince the court why Federline should be awarded primary physical custody.

"Britney being deposed is a routine part of a custody battle," L.A. family law attorney Joel Schwartz tells PEOPLE. "Kaplan will be asking her, and anyone else he's subpoenaed, about her past drug and alcohol use, her apparent inability to follow court orders, and anything else that reveals whether she's a fit mother."

The deposition could last up to several days.

Some depositions of Spears's associates have been completed, according to the pop star's former attorney, Laura Wasser. Among those subpoenaed include her former assistant Alli Sims, former manager Larry Rudolph, and a former bodyguard.

Spears, 25, and Federline, 29, are embroiled in an ongoing custody battle over sons Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.

For now, Federline retains physical custody of the children, while Spears has monitored visitation rights, and one overnight per week.

The judge on Friday is not expected to reinstate the 50-50 custody arrangement that was in place before Spears was stripped of custody and allowed only visitation.

On Wednesday, Spears and Federline attended their first court-mandated Parenting Without Conflict session at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The couple are also undergoing joint co-parenting counseling. Spears is still subject to twice-weekly random drug tests.

Via people