Judge clears Halle Berry's son Maceo to testify on Olivier Martinez's restraining order bid

Halle Berry has lost her bid to keep her son off the witness stand. A judge has ruled that 13-year-old Maceo may testify in the custody fight between Berry and his father, Olivier Martinez, according to court documents.

Limits on what he can say

The ruling narrows his testimony to a single issue: Martinez's request for a domestic violence restraining order against Berry. The public will be shut out when he speaks. Only Berry, Martinez, their attorneys and court employees may be present.

The claim behind the request

Martinez alleges Berry attacked Maceo during an argument while the boy was playing a virtual reality game. He claims she jumped on him and choked him. Berry denies she ever hurt her son.

Martinez wants sole custody and is asking the court to order Berry to keep her distance.

Berry's objections

Berry had argued that Martinez was coaching the teenager. In her written reply to the restraining order request, she said Maceo has his own reasons to downplay his behavior and push the blame onto others, so the court should not simply take his version at face value.

She also says she has worried for years that Martinez drags their son into grown-up disputes. By her account she ends up enforcing the rules while Martinez plays the easygoing parent. She says that has led Maceo to cast her as the villain and his father as the hero because he gets more freedom at Martinez's home.

Berry fears the boy's account will reflect feelings built up over years rather than what actually happened. For now the court has sided with Martinez on the question of hearing from Maceo.