What the Court Order Signals

• A Los Angeles judge granted Olivier Martinez a temporary restraining order covering himself and 12-year-old Maceo, while still allowing Halle Berry unsupervised contact with their son.
• The court temporarily modified Berry’s parenting time but declined Martinez’s request for sobriety monitoring, citing insufficient information in the initial filing.
• The Oct. 16 hearing—not Thursday’s temporary order—will be the first major test of competing claims, evidence, credibility, and what Maceo himself may say.

By Samuel López | USA Herald

LOS ANGELES - Olivier Martinez has secured a temporary restraining order against Halle Berry, but the judge’s order also sends a clear message about what the court has—and has not—concluded at this early stage.

A Los Angeles County judge on Thursday granted Martinez’s request for temporary protection covering both Martinez and the former couple’s 12-year-old son, Maceo, according to court records reviewed by USA Herald. The order follows allegations that Berry physically abused their child during an incident Martinez described in his filing.

Martinez alleged Berry grabbed Maceo by the neck, began choking him and shouted, “Who is dominant now?! Who is dominant?” He also alleged there had been other physical, verbal and emotional abuse over the past several years.

Those are serious accusations. But a temporary restraining order is not a final finding that the allegations are true.

The judge imposed limits on Berry’s contact with Maceo, allowing visitation Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays during the same hours. That contact appears to remain unsupervised under the present order.

That detail matters, because if the court had concluded, based on the emergency paperwork, that Berry posed an immediate and substantial danger to Maceo, the judge had options far more restrictive than a reduced visitation schedule. The court could have ordered no-visitation pending the hearing, supervised visitation, or imposed other child-safety conditions. Instead, the court preserved regular contact between mother and son while the case moves toward a prompt hearing.

The order states that the modified arrangement is intended to maintain communication between Berry and Maceo. The judge also denied Martinez’s request for sobriety monitoring, finding there was insufficient information to support that part of the requested relief.

That denial could become important when both sides return to court on Oct. 16.

Martinez’s attorney, Patrick Baghdaserians, said his client’s overriding concern is Maceo’s safety and welfare. He described Martinez as a loving parent who has tried to do his best in a difficult co-parenting relationship, adding that Martinez wants Berry to receive help for issues he believes affect the child.

Berry’s lawyer, Marina Beck, has rejected the allegations.

“To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement,” Beck said in a statement to another outlet. Beck said Berry is accustomed to what she called Martinez’s “outrageous conduct” and will continue fighting for Maceo’s best interests while giving him the love and support he needs.

That response suggests Berry’s legal team will not treat this as a routine hearing. The case now heads toward the familiar collision point in high-conflict custody litigation - competing declarations, text messages, emails, photographs, medical records, witness accounts, videos, audio recordings and social-media material. Each side will try to turn the other side’s parenting decisions, private communications and past conduct into evidence.

Martinez's filing goes well beyond the alleged choking incident. He claims Berry has abused the boy over the past several years, and that puts the whole history in front of the judge, not just one bad day.

At the hearing, Martinez should expect two questions from the Judge. What proof backs up years of alleged abuse? And why was none of it reported sooner? Martinez's answers could decide how much weight the court gives his word. The court can also interview the child directly to find out whether he's been coached or influenced by either parent.

Delay does not automatically disprove a parent’s allegation. Family conflict can be complicated, and parents may hesitate to report concerns for many reasons. Still, timing is often central to credibility. A judge may ask why a parent who believed a child was repeatedly in danger continued under the prior custody arrangement without seeking emergency court intervention sooner.

Berry, meanwhile, will need to confront the allegations directly. Her attorney’s denial is strong, but the hearing will turn on evidence rather than public statements. Berry’s side may challenge Martinez’s account, present alternative explanations, question whether the child was influenced or coached, and raise issues concerning Martinez’s own conduct as a parent.

In cases involving children old enough to express views, a court may also consider whether it is appropriate to obtain information from the child in a protected manner. Judges do not simply place children in the middle of adult disputes. But where claims of abuse, pressure or influence arise, the child’s statements—and the circumstances in which those statements were made—can become highly significant.

The case is proceeding on an expedited track because it involves a domestic-violence restraining-order request. At the upcoming hearing, the court may dissolve the temporary order, modify it, extend it, or set the matter for a fuller evidentiary proceeding if the disputed facts cannot be resolved on the court’s regular Law & Motion calendar.

Berry and Martinez finalized their divorce in 2023 after an eight-year legal battle. Under their settlement, Berry was ordered to pay $8,000 per month in child support, plus 4.3 percent of income above $2 million.

For now, the court has granted Martinez limited temporary relief—not a final victory. The Oct. 16 hearing is where the allegations will begin facing the pressure of proof.

If you suspect a child is being abused or is in immediate danger, contact local law enforcement or child protective authorities. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453), with confidential support in more than 170 languages.

About the Author

Samuel López is a reporter and news correspondent for USA Herald who has covered the publication since 2022. With more than two decades of experience in legal and insurance matters, López has worked extensively with state and federal litigation, contested family-law proceedings, evidence disputes, and high-conflict cases where court filings often tell only part of the story. His reporting examines what judges actually ordered, what the available record supports, and the legal questions still waiting to be answered.

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