Palin-Johnston custody case to be public

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The custody battle over former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's grandson will play out in public, a judge has determined.

In ordering all sealed documents opened, Alaska Superior Court Judge Kari Kristiansen of Palmer ruled that Bristol Palin didn't provide enough evidence that her 1-year-old son, Tripp, would be harmed by the publicity expected to surround the case, the Anchorage Daily News reported Monday.

Also, Sharon Gleason, presiding judge for the judicial district, denied Bristol Palin's request to use pseudonyms in all filings, the newspaper said.

Bristol Palin, 19, has petitioned for child support, and full legal and physical custody of the baby, asserting that the boy's father, Levi Johnston, "is not yet mature enough to take on significant parental responsibilities."

Johnston has said he wants shared custody and to do what he can for the boy and Palin. Nothing indicates either teenager is an unfit parent, Johnston's attorney, Rex Butler, wrote in a court filing.

In a sworn statement, Johnston, also 19, said he wanted the matter to be public to ensure everyone would behave, including the boy's grandmother, Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate.

"I know that public scrutiny will simplify this matter and act as a check against anyone's need to be overly vindictive, aggressive or malicious, not that Bristol would ever be that way, nor that I would," Johnston said in a sworn statement. "But her mother is powerful, politically ambitious and has a reputation for being extremely vindictive."

Bristol Palin said Johnston's claims about her mother were wrong and her mother was not involved in the custody suit.