Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, a Bay Area woman has won the right to parental status and visits with the daughter of her former lesbian partner, who moved out when the girl was 3 months old. The high court denied review Monday of an appeal by the birth mother, identified only as Kristina S., who challenged her former partner's right to be considered a parent. Kristina's lawyers, from the religious conservative group Liberty Counsel, argued that recognizing parental status after a few months of care violated a mother's right to control her child's...

<p>Rebecca Reyes opened an e-mail from her estranged husband in November to learn to her shock that he had their 3-year-old daughter baptized in the Catholic Church even though she said the couple, in happier times, had agreed to raise her in the Jewish faith.</p>

(LifeSiteNews.com) – Janet Jenkins, a practicing lesbian who was once in a “civil union” with ex-lesbian Lisa Miller, is conducting a media campaign to locate Miller’s seven-year-old daughter in an attempt to gain custody of the child. Miller’s daughter, Isabella, was conceived via artificial insemination during the pair’s relationship, and has no biological relationship with Jenkins. Miller disappeared with Isabella in December, apparently in an effort to prevent a Vermont judge from transferring custody of her child to Jenkins. But Jenkins is doing numerous interviews with mainstream media outlets, ostensibly in an effort to locate Isabella (described by Jenkins...

SANTA CRUZ — In a case that could have far-reaching implications for gay rights, a Santa Cruz woman is seeking to maintain joint custody of 10-month-old twins that she and her former partner, the biological mother of the children, had agreed to raise. As court battles over the rights of non-biological gay parents garner national attention, the Santa Cruz case contains a complicated wrinkle: The biological mother is now involved in a romantic relationship with the sperm donor, who has joined her in seeking full custody of the boys. "It's the first case I'm aware of where a lesbian couple...

....The Lisa Miller case reveals the dangers of judicial tyranny. The Judicial branch used to be called the “least dangerous branch”. Courts were arbiters not super legislatures which could make law. Now, unelected Judges are used as tools for effecting social change. This approach fails to respect the separation of powers doctrine and threatens our Reoublic. However, it is even worse in the case of a Court created “right” such as the alleged "right" to kill children in the womb. Court insistence that we treat homosexual relationships as equivalent to marriage is another example of calling something a "right" which...

Isabella and Lisa Miller Alexandria, Va., Jan 5, 2010 / 06:13 am (CNA).- In a case showing some ramifications of the legal recognition of same-sex unions, a Virginia woman has disobeyed a Vermont court order to turn over sole custody of her biological daughter to her former lesbian partner.Lisa Miller conceived and gave birth to her daughter Isabella through artificial insemination in 2002 while living in a same-sex civil union with Janet Jenkins in Vermont. Miller left Jenkins and homosexual practice a year later and converted to an evangelical form of Christianity, the New York Times reports.Jenkins brought a...

Woman Defies Order To Give Child To Ex-Partner Parental abduction charges possible after she and daughter vanish Lisa Miller [Pic in URL] and her 7-year-old daughter are missing after failing to show up at the home of Miller's ex-partner as part of a court-ordered custody agreement. A woman at the center of a complex dispute with her former lesbian partner defied a court order to give up custody of her 7-year-old daughter Friday, and police said she could face parental abduction charges. A Vermont judge had ordered Lisa Miller to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins at 1 p.m....

A woman at the center of a complex dispute with her former lesbian partner defied a court order to give up custody of her 7-year-old daughter, an attorney said Friday. A Vermont judge had ordered Lisa Miller to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins at 1 p.m. Friday at the Falls Church, Va., home of Jenkins' parents. Miller did not show up with the girl, said Sarah Star, Jenkins' Vermont-based attorney. Jenkins has notified Fairfax County, Va., police that Isabella is missing, Star said. "She's very disappointed, obviously," Star said. "She's very concerned about Isabella and asks that if...

Lisa Miller Is Supposed to Handover Daughter Isabella to her Former Lesbian Partner Janet Jenkins on Friday - ABC News

The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge ruled, adding that it seems the woman has "disappeared" with her daughter. Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen ordered Lisa Miller of Winchester, Va., to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven at 1 p.m. Friday at the Virginia home of Jenkins' parents.

MONTPELIER, Vt. – The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge ruled, adding that it seems the woman has "disappeared" with her daughter... ..The couple broke up in 2003, and Miller moved to Virginia, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian...

Vt. Judge: Birth Mom Must Give Child To Ex-Partner By WILSON RING Associated Press Writer Dec. 29, 2009 MONTPELIER, Vt. -- The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge has ruled. Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen ordered Lisa Miller of Winchester, Va., to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven at 1 p.m. Friday at the Virginia home of Jenkins' parents. Miller and Jenkins were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller through artificial insemination...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An Alaska judge's ruling has revealed a heated legal custody battle between Sarah Palin's daughter and the father of Palin's grandson. A November request by 18-year-old Bristol Palin keep the proceedings closed was denied Christmas Eve. Her Nov. 3 petition for sole custody and child support also seeks a visitation schedule for Levi Johnston, the father of 1-year-old Tripp. Bristol says her ex-fiance has exercised "sporadic visitation rights." The 19-year-old Johnston denies in court documents that he has avoided his responsibilities. He is seeking shared custody.

Levi Johnston 'To Take Sarah Palin To Court' Over Child Custody The teenager who fathered Sarah Palin's 10-month-old grandson has delivered a fresh blow to the former Republican vice presidential candidate by saying he will "definitely" take her to court to gain access to his child. By Nick Allen in Los Angeles 30 Oct 2009 Levi Johnston, 19, who had a son called Tripp with Mrs Palin's eldest daughter Bristol, has been considering legal action for months but now says it is "inevitable" and that Mrs Palin is preventing him from seeing the boy. A court case over Tripp, during...

SALEM A three-year dog fight over who gets to keep Dexter the beloved pug ended Monday when a Superior Court judge ordered the ex-couple to share ownership. Eric Ware and Doreen Houseman, who live miles apart in Monroe Township, must start sharing the family pet on a five-week cycle. "I just can't wait to have him in my hands on Friday," said Houseman, who said she hasn't seen Dexter in two years, seven months, and three weeks. She guaranteed it would be an emotional reunion with "a lot of hugs and kisses." Dare and Houseman, who never married, spent 13...

The identity of the biological father of Michael Jackson’s children is being reported as that of his dermatologist, Arnold Klein. Klein reportedly fathered the children with Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe, who gave birth to Prince Michael and Paris Michael Katherine. The identity of the mother or father to Prince Michael II, known as ‘Blanket’, is unknown. Sources revealed Klein as the father to usmagazine.com, saying that "He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth." Los Angeles-based Klein is Rowe’s former boss. She previously worked as a nurse’s assistant. Rowe has reportedly reached out to the...

Michael Jackson's 79-year-old mother won temporary guardianship of his three children Monday and moved to take control of his estate. Michael Joseph Jr., 12, Paris Michael Katherine, 11, and Prince "Blanket" Michael II, 7, who have lived an extraordinarily sheltered life with their eccentric father, could inherit millions.

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday threw out a judge’s order that prohibited children in a divorce case from having any contact with their father’s gay and lesbian friends. The ruling was hailed by gay rights groups who said the decision focuses on the needs of children instead of perpetuating a stigma on the basis of sexual orientation. The state high court’s decision overturned Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards’ blanket prohibition against exposing the children to their father’s gay partners and friends. “Such an arbitrary classification based on sexual orientation flies in the face of our public policy...

Maryland Residents - Please contact your state representatives and urge them to support the Shared Parenting Bill now being debated in the Judiciary Committee. Maryland is only one of 13 remaining states NOT to support the right of father's to have shared custody of children in divorce. Many fathers such as myself have had their children stolen from them by the courts as a result of a contentious divorce. I was personally denied all access to my 4-month old son by a judge in Montgomery County for nearly 16 months and am still only permitted to see him one hour...

A British mother faces jail in Dubai after being convicted of adultery. Marnie Pearce fears she may never see her two sons again. She insists she is innocent and that it is her ex-husband who cheated on her. Miss Pearce, 40, claims she was framed by Egyptian Ihab El-Labban so he could win custody of their children, Laith, seven and Ziad, three.

October 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When Lisa Miller repudiated the lesbian lifestyle in 2003 and turned to Jesus Christ as her savior, she believed that she and her daughter Isabella would be safe from her traumatic and confused past. However, her former partner Janet Jenkins, to whom she was joined in a “civil union,” was not willing to let go without a fight. Jenkins sued and successfully received the right to unsupervised visits with Isabella, some lasting for weeks, despite the fact that she has no biological or adoptive relationship with the child. Although Miller is now living in the...

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Philadelphia man was forced to pay more than $12,000 in child support for another man's daughter

I got this from a Woman Marine I know. We are looking for someone who can help this Marine legally with his problems who lives in his area. Can anyone assist us? A phone number, a reference of who we can go to? Cpl John Lake is one of your young veteran's. I've become one of his friends/admirers. Ok I don't know a lot about him, but he's one of our warriors living in the VA hospital with a TBI. (Traumatic Brain Injury) What more do I need to know... I learned this weekend some details that I assume are...

CHONGQING, China - Nine-year-old Anna He stands quietly amid the chaos in her boarding school dorm on a Sunday night, a frenzy of little girls chattering in Chinese as they change the linens on rows of wooden beds. Anna is an outsider here. Her parents are Chinese, but she cannot talk to her schoolmates because she grew up in America. This small girl with watchful dark eyes was at the center of one of the longest custody battles in the U.S. in recent times, a high-profile seven-year dispute marked by racial and cultural undercurrents. On one side were the Bakers,...

Three Tijuana police officers suspected of ties to organized crime were detained this week by U.S. authorities as they tried to cross into the United States. The officers, two of whom were assistant chiefs, were taken into custody at the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry, said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. The officers worked for the municipal police department and were turned over to the Mexican military. The first two were detained Monday and are among the 20 municipal officers being held for questioning in Mexico City by the federal...

Brande Samuels, 29, shows some of the child support documents from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Samuels has been forced by the state to pay child support for a child but DNA tests show he is not the father. SHERRY BROWN /Tulsa World Friday He promised himself and his family that when he left his prison cell, he would work hard to build a stable and positive life. After two years in prison, he was released early on good behavior and worked for less than minimum wage while he trained to become a welder. But that's when he...

Teri Stoddard Fathers4Justice Activists Atop Crane In Ohio 2008-09-27 Donald Tenn is a man of conviction. Since the day I met him, one thing, and one thing alone has guided his every move. Tenn is a Daddy who misses and worries about his daughter Madison every moment of every day. Madison and Tenn are victims of Madison’s mother Shannon and the disaster called the family court system. Shannon illegally abducted Madison from California to Illinois. When she learned the law would make her return Madison, she immediately filed false allegations of domestic violence against Tenn. As I described here and...

A New Jersey judge recently confronted an issue that courts have been avoiding for years: are restraining orders constitutional? Accused criminals have "due process" and many other constitutional rights, but the feminists have persuaded many judges to issue orders that restrain actions of non-criminals and punish them based on flimsy, unproved accusations. These restraining orders are issued without the due process required for criminal prosecutions, yet they carry the threat of a prison sentence for anyone who violates them. Mr. and Mrs. Crespo were divorced and rearing their children in the same household when they had a fight, and Mrs....

<p>MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mary Winkler, the woman convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2006 shooting death of her minister husband, has taken custody of her three daughters, one of her lawyers said Monday.</p> <p>Rachael Putnam, a custody attorney, said the former minister's wife picked the girls up Friday from the slain man's parents, Dan and Diane Winkler.</p>

A Smithfield man this morning filed a federal lawsuit against Fayette County Children and Youth Services alleging that the agency removed his children from him -- and has forbidden contact with them for nearly a year -- even though there were no allegations of any kind of abuse against them. Filed on his behalf by the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Pennsylvania, the lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that would prohibit CYS from placing -- or threatening to place -- his children, who are staying with his parents, in foster care. The plaintiff is listed as "John Doe" in...

5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is hearing a a suit brought forth byAttorney Susan Watson of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid on behalf of Monica Castro who lost her daughter in a custody dispute 5 years ago. Ms. Castro had been living with her daughter Rose, and common law husband Omar Gallardo. Gallardo was in the US illegally, while his wife and daughter were both American citizens. The dispute arose when Gallardo was arrested, detained, and later deported by Border Patrol Agents. He stated that he was the father of then 11 month old Rose and...

"The raid ­- resulting in the largest child custody case in American history - was based on a lie." "Police traced the calls to 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman named Rozita Swinton. Swinton had earlier been arrested for making a false report, and accused of posing as "Jennifer," 16, who called 911 to report that her father had locked her in a basement for days. Swinton may also have posed as thirteen-year-old Dana Anderson, who was being sexually abused by her pastor and raped by her father. There is no evidence that Sarah, Jennifer, or Dana exist. Swinton remains a "person...

SAN ANGELO, Texas — The day after FLDS mothers celebrated an appeals court decision ordering the return of their children, child welfare officials went to the Texas Supreme Court to prevent it. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services asked the Supreme Court to stay the 3rd Court of Appeals order and keep the children where they are, in foster facilities, until the high court considers its arguments. Attorneys argued the more than 450 children will "suffer irreparable harm" if the appellate court order is followed and says the children "will be at risk of sexual and emotional abuse"...

AUSTIN – Texas Child Protective Services will ask the state's highest court to keep a polygamist sect's children in state custody, following a Thursday appeals court ruling that ordered the youngsters be returned to their homes. Texas Supreme Court spokesman Osler McCarthy said attorneys for the state called Friday morning and said they'd be "filing an action in this court" later in the day. On Thursday, a state appeals court ordered many though perhaps not all of a polygamist sect's children returned to their parents Thursday, saying Texas failed to prove they were in physical jeopardy and urgently needed to...

Texas authorities no longer believe that a woman who gave birth to a child in state protective custody is a minor herself. Lawyers for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services acknowledged in a hearing in San Angelo on Tuesday that the young woman is legally an adult. "We received information — credible information — and we now believe this woman who was believed to be a minor in question, is in fact, an adult," said Texas Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner. However, she will still remain in custody alongside her baby boy, who was born in San...

A woman who claimed that she is allergic to her ex-husband's cat cannot prevent their two children from visiting their father's home, a Long Island, N.Y., judge has ruled.

If you watch much television, you've probably heard of a product called Mike's Hard Lemonade. And if you ask Christopher Ratte and his wife how they lost custody of their 7-year-old son, the short version is that nobody in the Ratte family watches much television. The way police and child protection workers figure it, Ratte should have known that what a Comerica Park vendor handed over when Ratte ordered a lemonade for his boy three Saturdays ago contained alcohol, and Ratte's ignorance justified placing young Leo in foster care until his dad got up to speed on the commercial beverage...

"If Walther gives CPS permanent custody of the children, the agency will begin looking for foster homes in a case that has already stretched the legal resources of this small town and the state's child welfare system. The custody case is one of the largest in U.S. history and involves children from six months to 17 years in age. Roughly 100 of the children are under age 4. ... Typically, each child would be given a separate hearing, but given the number of cases, it's likely the judge will have the state, the children's attorneys and the parents' attorneys make...

11-year-old Libby Mashburn is at the center of a child-custody battle with far-reaching consequences. Libby's mother says she lost primary custody of her daughter because she was deemed to be too religious.[A Judge in Alabama ruled that Libby could not be taught the Bible by her Baptist mother.] Libby tells INSIDE EDITION, "I think children should be able to choose who they want to live with." Libby's mom Laura Snider is a member of an [large] ultra-conservative Baptist church in Alabama. Libby spends several hours each week attending sermons. On weekends, she goes to Sunday school.[She attends church at...

MADISON, Ala. — On a January night nine years ago, Laura Snider was saved. A 27-year-old single mother at the time, Mrs. Snider felt she had ruined her life through a disastrous marriage and divorce. But in her kitchen that night, after reading pamphlets and Bible passages that her boss had pointed her to, she realized she was a sinner, she said, she prayed for forgiveness, and put her trust in Christ. Four years later, the conservative brand of Christianity Mrs. Snider embraced became the source of a bitter, continuing custody battle over her only child, Libby Mashburn. Across the...

In the heartbreaking Melinda Smith case, a San Diego father and daughter were needlessly separated by the foster care system for over a decade. Last week, Los Angeles County settled a lawsuit over the case for an undisclosed sum. Yet a recent Urban Institute study found that the Smith case typifies the way the foster care system harms children by disregarding the loving bonds they share with their fathers. Smith was born to an unwed couple in 1988. Her father, Thomas Marion Smith, a former Marine and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, saw Melinda often and paid child support. When...

A Maryville woman who went to court on Aug. 14 for a child custody hearing says she was persecuted because of her religious beliefs at the hands of the Blount County judicial system. According to Jo Anne White, what was supposed to be a standard child custody hearing turned into an almost hourlong “Bible study” in the courtroom in spite of the repeated protests of her attorney, Kevin W. Shepherd. After a detailed discussion of her religious beliefs — documented in court reporter transcripts obtained by The Daily Times — and a brief recess to chambers, Blount County Circuit Court...

MADISON, WIS. — Talk about treating Fido like one of the family: Wisconsin legislators have introduced a bill that outlines how divorcing couples and the courts should handle custody battles over pets. The measure would let couples specify, among other things, visitation rights and the right to move animals out of state. If the feuding spouses can't agree on what to do with the pet, the solution is simple: A judge can either pick a spouse — or ship it off to a local Humane Society facility or similar shelter. Whoever gets there first owns the dog, cat or even...

MURCIA, Spain, July 24, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Spanish judge ruled in June that a woman must leave her lesbian relationship for the sake of her children or give up custody of them to the father, her former husband, in a controversial story that has just come to light. Homosexual advocacy groups have begun clamoring for an investigation into Fernando Ferrin Calamita, a family court judge in the southeastern city of Murcia who has insisted that the "most prestigious specialists" and "common sense" say homosexual environments are damaging to the development of children. In his June 6 decision Ferrin Calamita...

A former Morris County man who learned 30 years after his son was born that the child was not his cannot recoup $110,000 spent in child support from the biological father, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The 7-0 decision overturned an appellate court ruling in 2005 and found there is no exception in the New Jersey Parentage Act to extend the deadline in a paternity case beyond the child's 23rd birthday. "The Legislature evidently knew what has been known since time immemorial -- that children would be born of adulterous relationships and that the true identity of the...

LOS ANGELES -- David Hasselhoff beamed outside of a Los Angeles courtroom Friday when saying that he won his long-running battle with ex-wife Pamela Bach over custody of his two teenage daughters. After the hearing, Hasselhoff declared that the judge said, "Enough is enough." Bach and her lawyer aren't talking about the case. They said they are prevented from doing so by a court order. Bach and Hasselhoff had been splitting custody of their daughters, who are 14 and 17. Last month, a judge put a hold on Hasselhoff's visitation privileges for two weeks. The decision came within days of...

Stupid Men June 7, 2007 at 6:04 pm · Filed under Sex & Relationships, Mating, Marriage & Divorce, Feminism, Child Support & Custody, Vox Populi I’m going to give you the highlights of a very unfunny joke. A man is married for 8 years, and comes home one night to “the talk.” The one about the relationship, about the need for space, (I have a boyfriend, and it’s getting to hard to cover it up) – a lot of us know the drill. So, he agrees to move out “for a while” to “work on the relationship.” Fast forward a...

Psychology Today To Child Custody Divorce Courts, Father's Rights Groups: Dads Are Equal By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Jerusalem ----June 3 ...... It was not easy writing the above headline. But when Psychology Today, one of the most respected lay journals on clinical psychology releases research illustrating that fathers are empowered biologically no differently than women when it comes to nurturing children, all keywords are needed. The Psychological Today story: The Making of a Modern Dad, by Douglas Carlton Abrams illustrates in vivid scientific detail how fathers are no different in their biological programming than mothers when raising children....

Legal question for anyone who knows. A friend of mine is in a bad relationship (unmarried) with two kids. The lady has definite mental issues and some prescription drug issues as well. He finally had enough and is leaving her. The lady in question called his mom up at 3:30 in the morning and told her to come get the kids, that she couldn't handle them and if she didn't she would call 911 and have them take her kids. Apparently, she had threatened suicide to her fiancee as well. This woman has a history of faking seizures and being...

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2007 – The Defense Department announced today that it has taken a senior al Qaeda operative into custody at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The detainee, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, was transferred to Guantanamo this week from CIA custody and is now under the control of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Bryan Whitman, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters. Abd al-Hadi is considered a high-value detainee, like the group of 14 detainees who were transferred to Guantanamo from CIA custody in September, Whitman said. At the time of his detention, Abd al-Hadi was one of...