Judge Allows Maceo to Testify in Restricting-Order Hearing

A judge has allowed Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez’s 13-year-old son, Maceo, to testify in a closed courtroom during the former couple’s restraining-order proceeding, while limiting his testimony to Martinez’s request for an order. The ruling does not resolve the disputed allegations against Berry. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelley Kaufman ordered that Maceo’s testimony be confined to the restraining-order request and that he not be coached. Only the parents, their attorneys and court personnel will be permitted in the courtroom during his testimony, according to court records described in reports. The hearing is scheduled for October 16, 2026. Martinez alleges Berry choked Maceo during a disagreement on September 26. He has sought a domestic violence restraining order and sole custody. Berry denies physically abusing their son and has challenged Martinez’s account and his request for Maceo to testify. In court filings, Berry said she was concerned Martinez had discussed the litigation with Maceo and that his account could have been influenced. She argued that testifying could place the teenager in the middle of an intensely emotional dispute between his parents....