Boy cannot testify in Brazil custody battle

Boy cannot testify in Brazil custody battle
Court rules Sean Goldman may not be heard about where he wants to live


In happier times: David Goldman with his son, Sean, and his late wife Bruna. The New Jersey father has waged a five-year battle to regain custody of his son from a family in Brazil.


updated 4:50 p.m. ET, Thurs., July 30, 2009
SAO PAULO - The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 9-year-old Brazilian boy at the center of an international custody battle will not be allowed to testify about whether he wants to remain with relatives in Brazil or join his American father.

Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes ruled against the habeas corpus petition filed by the boy's Brazilian grandmother, Silvana Bianchi. She argued the boy should be heard before being returned to his biological father, David Goldman.

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