Saturday, January 02, 2010
Lisa Miller, who was ordered by a court in Vermont to turn over her child to her former partner, has missed the 1pm EST January 1st deadline. 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.
This case has drawn worldwide attention as Miller and Janet Jenkins were lesbian partners. After a civil union ceremony in 2000, Miller was artificially inseminated and gave birth to a daughter. In 2003, the couple separated and Miller (the birthmother) renounced her homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian.
Years of court battles ensued with U.S. Supreme Court opting note to hear the case. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jenkins who argued that Miller had not allowed her to visit with their daughter and ignored the custody rules set down by the Vermont Family Court.On November 20th, the Vermont court reversed a prior custody arranged ordering full custody to Jenkins. The court also ruled that on January 1st, Lisa Miller, the birth mother, must return the child over to Janet Jenkins.
Those who are interested can read more on this story at Vt. Judge: Birth Mom Must Give Child to Ex-Partner and Birth Mother Defies Order to Give Child to Ex-Partner. But our prediction is that, despite Ms. Miller's obvious contempt for the Court, she will never spend a day in jail for contempt. Our experience is that only men are incarcerated for contempt. Moreover, it would take an extremely courageous judge to enforce the Law under the facts of this case.
Labels: Civil Contempt, Custody, Parental Kidnapping
