AWAY TO DADDY'S HOUSE

By Elaine Lafferty/Los Angeles

For the Browns, the day was full of foreboding. Denise Brown could not sit still. The sister of Nicole Brown Simpson was expecting the worst and knew how the news would arrive: by fax from the Orange County, California, judge who was deciding where O.J. Simpson's two children would live. Desperate for distraction, Denise and her mother Juditha set off on a Christmas shopping trip, looking for snowboarding equipment.

The objects of the court's concern were frolicking about the house they had lived in since the murder of their mother on June 12, 1994. Sydney, 11, playing with a cousin, was aware of the drama about to unfold: she had told a friend that, yes, she planned to spend the weekend with her at a slumber party but all that might be canceled if she went back to live with her father. Meanwhile, Sydney's brother Justin, 8, and another cousin were playing together--until television camera crews began their vigil outside. Relatives whisked the kids away in a van. By 3:30 p.m., Denise and Juditha Brown had returned, and the fax rolled out of the machine. Denise broke into tears.

In a 10-page decision, Orange County Superior Court Judge Nancy Wieben Stock terminated Lou and Juditha Brown's guardianship of the children, declaring they had failed to prove, as California law requires, that a return to Simpson's custody would be detrimental to the children. From his Brentwood home, O.J. Simpson issued a "first and final" statement about regaining custody, saying he was "grateful to have the children home again where they want to be." He requested that the media and the public "allow my children their privacy and to live in as normal an environment as possible."

Brown family attorney Natasha Roit charged that the judge had failed to consider the children's statements to a court-appointed psychiatrist; statements, she said, that would have shown that they had witnessed domestic violence in the Simpson home. Said Roit: "I believe the children are at substantial risk with Simpson. This is a man who committed domestic violence in the past and continues to deny it."

For the Browns, the omens had been bad from the beginning. Although she could have considered it, Judge Wieben Stock disallowed evidence from O.J.'s criminal murder trial. She rejected Roit's request that she at least review portions of the criminal-trial transcript. Furthermore, according to sources close to the family, the Browns were even more frustrated by Marjorie Fuller, the court-appointed lawyer representing the children. The Browns said Fuller rarely spoke to them, and noted that Fuller visited their home on only one occasion, interviewing Juditha and Lou separately for one hour. In fact, Fuller was a forceful advocate for returning the children to their biological father. The Browns had tried but failed to get Fuller removed from the case. The lawyer reportedly billed nearly $200,000 to the children's estate for the eight-month case. Fuller could not be reached for comment.

Gearing up for the expected decision, Denise Brown held a 90-minute conference call with five lawyers and several women's rights activists the night before the judge's ruling. A number of legal and strategic options were discussed, but foremost was the Browns' commitment to appeal the judge's decision. Other options discussed were a recall effort against the judge and a plan to file a complaint against Fuller with the state bar association.

Speculation abounded regarding the effect the custody decision would have on the wrongful-death civil suit brought by the Browns and the family of Ron Goldman against Simpson. Said Laurie Levenson, associate dean at Loyola Law School: "It's going to be hard for the jurors to believe that he is dangerous. They will believe that the kids are safe if a judge sent them home to live with him."

Nevertheless, Simpson's side did not fare well at the civil trial in Santa Monica last week. Robert Groden testified for the defense that a photo of Simpson wearing Bruno Magli shoes--the kind of footwear apparently worn by the killer--was a fake. Groden sounded impressive enough until Peter Gelblum, an attorney for the Goldman family, attacked him as a Kennedy-assassination groupie who held no formal training, credential or qualifications as a photo expert. Lawyers for both sides argued over his resume, trying to fathom his actual occupation. (He has worked as camera repairman and phototechnician, among several activities.) Groden acknowledged on the stand that he has recently made a living selling Kennedy-assassination videos on the street in Dallas and that he sold Kennedy autopsy photos to the Globe tabloid for $50,000.

Simpson's trial will resume on Jan. 6. The Browns were granted a hearing on Jan. 10 in Orange County to ask the judge to stay her custody decision pending an appeal. Simpson, for his part, offered an olive branch to Lou and Juditha Brown, saying he expected them to "continue as active grandparents." "[Sydney and Justin] love their grandparents," Simpson told a reporter for the Associated Press, "but they want to stay with me." And so, for the moment, Father knows best--with the full force of law.