The Battle for Sunny: What Rights Does Sandra Bullock Have?
As the allegations against Jesse James get uglier and uglier, the real heartbreak is expected to come when Sandra Bullock has to say goodbye to her beloved stepdaughter, Sunny.
James was granted full custody of six-year-old Sunny in
December after her mother, James' ex-wife, former porn star Janine Lindemulder, was jailed for tax evasion. Bullock was instrumental in that court decision, providing a veneer of domesticity and stability to the James' household.
The actress has long said that she considers Sunny to be her own daughter and that the two have grown extremely close. According to TMZ, Lindemulder is planning to use the current scandal in an attempt to regain custody of her daughter and will begin arguing her case in June.
Lawyers say the dissolution of James and Bullock's marriage coupled with the unseemly nature of the allegations against James will most definitely be brought to bear in the upcoming custody case once it is revisited.
"One of the reasons the judge awarded custody to Jesse was because Sandra's presence was a stable factor in the home. Now that she is gone, there is a substantial change in circumstances, which is what courts look for to make changes in custody," explains attorney Stacy Schneiders, author of '
He Had It Coming: How to Outsmart Your Husband and Win Your Divorce.'
But where does this leave Sandra in relation to Sunny? Could Sandra possibly gain custody of the little girl? Only if both biological parents are deemed unfit, and a judge only makes that call in circumstances where a parent is endangering the welfare of a child, not simply because a parent is a louse.
"Biological parents are always a court's first choice, so if Jesse loses custody of his daughter, they would look again to the mother. If she is still unfit, the courts look to biological relatives first. If no one steps up, the court could ask Sandra to take temporary custody, making her a foster parent, until one of Sunny's two parents are fit to take custody of the child again. Neither parent will lose their parental rights permanently to Sandra, but she could become a temporary custodian if neither parent rises to the occasion. Of course, Sandra would have to agree to this arrangement and could even petition the court for this outcome. But biological parents always trump non-blood relatives," Schneiders explains.
Legally, things don't look great for Sandra finding a place in Sunny's life. The only way she will even receive visitation of James' biological children is through an amicable agreement with him, but as more and more allegations emerge about James' behavior, this split looks like it will be anything but amicable.
"The saddest part of this situation is not that Jesse James gave up Sandra Bullock for this 'lady,' it's that Sandra may lose her relationships with children she's grown to love. Sandra is a biological and legal stranger to these children and has absolutely no rights to custody or visitation," says family law attorney Sue Moss of Chemtob, Moss, Forman & Talbert.
Bullock and James had full custodial rights while Lindemulder spent time behind bars from January to July of 2009. When Lindemulder was released, she filed for more visitation with Sunny.
Both the Oscar winner and James wrote letters to the court arguing that his ex-wife was an unfit parent because of her troubled past and her relationship with husband Jeremy Aikman, a convicted felon on drug and gun related charges.
"Good cause exists for the court to conduct a review to determine if [Sunny] will be safe with [Lindemulder]. She should be restrained from allowing the child around pornographers, drug addicts, guns and firearms, felons and other unsafe environments," Jesse's letter read.
Bullock wrote, "While in Janine's care, sometimes Sunny is left alone during the day, while her mother is asleep from drug use."
The actress also made it clear how she felt about James' youngest in her plea. "I know the term 'stepmother' carries many connotations, one of them being 'glorified babysitter.' My commitment and responsibility to [the girl] ... goes beyond that."
In December of that year, a judge denied Lindemulder's request for overnight visits, but gave permission for her to spend Christmas with Sunny, provided the six-year-old was returned to her father's care by noon on Dec. 25.
However, in a
February hearing, James noted that Lindemulder never showed up to take Sunny on Christmas. A judge again denied Sunny's mother more access to her daughter, but did allow for phone calls between parent and child.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 14, where Lindemulder is expected to use James' alleged infidelity against him.
Currently, four women have stepped forward claiming they had an affair with the motorcycle enthusiast during his marriage to Bullock. Sandra has since moved out of the family home. In a statement, the reality TV star apologized to his wife and kids, and insisted that the majority of the allegations were false.
Sandra also has two other stepchildren -- Chandler and Jesse Jr. -- from James' first marriage.
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Sandra Bullock Snapshots
Sunny James daughter of Jesse James gets an icecream in Huntington , Sandra Bullock is very attached to Sunny Beach March 23, 2010 X17online.com exclusive
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I wrote many replies to many articles, and you know what? It's a waste of time. We have to learn to love each other and forgive each other because this earth is going down fast.
Jessie James is no saint. He has also "promoted" porn by having sex with many women. Perhaps he should've controled that LUST.
If Jesse was cheating because Sandra was off for a year filming a movie, who was watching Sunny? How close could Sandra be with Sunny?
Sandra knew exactly who she was marrying. Marrying Jesse changed people's opinion of Sandra. She became cool. The celebrity marriage has one contractal clause: "Do what you want, just do not embarass me."
Now Sandra must divorce him because he was stupid and the world feels sorry for Sandra.
Jesse has his side and if he has damaging info on who Sandra really is, the divorce will be a very quiet affair.
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Stupid people do stupid things. Thats the way life is. She is 40 and needs no mans stupididty..............to mess up her good life at this time in there Sandy, We LOVE you............
and you KNOW these facts HOW?
you are a goofball to write lies. sandra bullock wasnt gone for a stupid year making a film she was in atlanta georgia. big f 'n deal james was not far away from her when he cheated in TEXAS,,,you stupid lying jerk.
Wow, Victoria a little jealous? Keep blaming the victim. Is Jessee an altar boy at your church or something?
I think you make some very valid points. I don't think what Jesse did was right but Sandra must have really trusted him or been so into that film, that she was miles away in every sense of the word. Eleven months away from a young child is a very, very long time. Of course, for all we know she may have traveled to and from but still her career did not leave much time for a child of Sunny's age.
Are you serious?? Do you personally know either one of them??
You sound like you have an inside track.......... how about we just let them both figure it out?
exactly. i didn't even read the whole thing but just the fact that he was with a porn star before says a lot about him i think. not sure if i'd even want to put myself in that situation. it just sucks to see something like this happen to sandra though. i know that celebrities are human too, but she's one of the celebs that i actually can believe to be a really nice person.
Just how do you know this? Who the hell are U? Everyone needs to leave Sandra alone to deal with this tragic story! Just my thoughts!
Jesse is a pig. He was married and He knew what Sandra did for a living. He just could not step up and be a real man. Temptation will always be there it takes character to be above it. There is no excuse for cheating on your spouse.
A babysitter.
Don't try and justify what Jesse James did by blaming Sandra. He knew full well that she is an actress, and that she would be away at times making movies. If he couldn't hack that, he never should have married her. As for Sunny, she was with her low life mother who was not taking care of her because she was drugged out all the time and off making porn films. Sandra and Sunny became close when the child was visiting her father. Unless you know all parties involved, you can't know the whole story anyway. It's all a very sad story, and Sunny is the one I really feel most sorry for. She's the innocent in all of this mess.
YOU KNOW IT TOOK HER A LONG TIME BEFORE SHE TRUSTED ANY ONE TO GET MARRIED AND SHE THOUGHT HE WAS THE ONE BUT SHE WAS HURT BY HIM HE IS A DOG AND FOR YOU TO JUDGE HER FOR WHAT HE DID MAKES YOU AND ASS LIKE HIM
What a ridiculous post, Victoria. You have absolutely no knowledge of the reasoning behind Sandra Bullock's marriage to Jesse James. You have never spoken to either of them, you have never seen either of them on the street and the likelihood is that you have never even seen one of her movies. You're a simpleton - and by the way, marrying him did not make her cool. She was cool way before she even met the guy.
Who spends a year making a movie?? Movies are made in a month or two. So, if they make one movie a year....that equals to 10 months off.
wow...and when did you sleep with Jesse?
So many women think they can change a man... it's in their nature. ask any woman married longer than 10 years... and you will find what you see is what you get. And sooner of later the bad habits creep back into the marriage. So this was no surprise...it's just unfortunate kids are caught up in the mess.