VA woman fails to give up child to ex partner

[dsc]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101100.html

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, according to Fairfax County, Va., police and Jenkins' Vermont-based attorney.

"She's very disappointed, obviously," said Sarah Star, Jenkins' lawyer. "She's very concerned about Isabella and asks that if anybody sees Isabella, that they please contact the authorities."

The Jenkins family called police after Miller failed to show. A detective interviewed the family and determined that Fairfax County authorities would not be investigating the girl's whereabouts because of jurisdictional concerns, said Officer Tawny Wright, a police spokeswoman.

Star said she had also contacted authorities in Rutland County, Vt., where Jenkins lives, and Bedford County, Va., where Miller was living the last time Jenkins knew her whereabouts. Wright said it would be up to authorities in those counties to decide whether to investigate.

If police believe a crime has been committed, they would obtain a criminal warrant charging Miller with parental abduction. For the time being, the case remains a civil matter.

end of quote

First, kudos to the Vermont judge who actually tried to make the visitation order for Ms. Jenkins. I don't think that happens often enough in family courts.

Second, shame on both Ms. Miller and Fairfax County VA. Ms. Miller is a kidnapper, plain and simple. The fact she happens to share DNA with the child is immaterial to this case. She was explicitly told to surrender the child to its other parent, after several times of her not following court orders for visitation. Instead she ran away. As for Fairfax County, I don't care if Ms. Miller is from Mars, a kidnapping occured that was discovered in your county. At the very least you should be making sure the parents of Ms. Miller aren't complicit.

I do hope Ms Miller is found and put in jail where she richly deserves to be. Ms Jenkins and Isabella deserve no less

[TheWraith]

1. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

But if a warrant is issued for this woman's arrest on kidnapping charges in Vermont, isn't Virginia legally obligated to honor and enforce said warrant under the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

[dsc]

2. One would hope

so far we are dealing with contempt orders but one hopes a warrent will be in the offing. It is new years and courts are presumedly closed.

[TheWraith]

3. I guess the better question is, what happens if they didn't?

They would, of course, technically be in violation of federal law by failing to enforce the warrant, but I don't know what remedies are available if that happens.

[paulsby]

9. not really

if a state issues a (felony) warrant, and enters it into NCIC with an extradition authorization then the person can be arrested in another state for "fugitive from justice" or some similar charge (depends on the specific state penal code).

state A has no authority to enforce warrants from state B. they can however arrest because there is PC to believe the subject of another state warrant has fled into their jurisdiction, thus becoming a fugitive from justice in their jurisdiction.

the vast majority of these arrests are made by state/local cops and there is no federal law involved.

hth

[PSzymeczek]

6. I would certainly think so.

Although, the courts don't seem to be applying it to same-sex marriage.

[FLDCVADem]

4. No reason for Fairfax County to investigate

as there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe the child was taken from Fairfax county.

[vadawg]

5. bingo, if theres a warrant for her and she turns up in fairfax the warrant will be served

but as it dosent look like any crime happened in the county there is no way they will be able to investigate as if one had. State police and the bedford county sheriff will probuably investigate if anyone..

[paulsby]

7. it's not kidnapping

in most jurisdictions, it would be plain jane custodial interference (usually a misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor) and/or contempt of court.

you can use the word "kidnapping" all you want, but it doesn't change the reality.

[dsc]

8. she has no more right to that child, as of today, than I do

It is plain and simple kidnapping, and if it were treated as such it wouldn't go on.

[paulsby]

10. you are ignorant of the law

it is NOT kidnapping. in every jurisdiction i have seen, it is either custodial interference and/or contempt.

how many of these cases have YOU investigated? i've done at least a dozen.

and i never said she had a right to the child. i said the situation is CI *not* kidnapping

[dsc]

11. I understand what the law calls it

but frankly the law is dead wrong here. Parents pull this shit because they think A) police won't investigate and B) when they do they will get a slap on the wrist. Put a couple of these parents behind bars for say 15 years or so and I bet this crap stops dead in its tracks.

[paulsby]

12. r u serious?

15 yrs? for this?

for pete's sake, i've seen guys commit murder get less time than that.

it never ceases to amaze me how i, allegedly as a fascist law and order cop, almost always think people should be punished LESS harshly than most liberals or DU members.

[dsc]

13. This is a commonly occuring crime that clearly isn't being deterred

so yes I think a few 15 year sentences are in order. Heck I have seen people with a few ounces of crack do way more. Which is worse? No question in my mind.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. 15 years? wanting to keep a kid to yourself is a very natural parental urge

while its not a good thing to do, 15 years is insane.

[dsc]

21. the fact it is such an urge is why the penalty needs to be harsh

again, routinely low level drug users get a similar penalty with no one giving a damn.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. liberals do give a damn & i would never convict someone for 15 years for this

she personally isnt responsible for all bad things that happen to gays, & quite frankly shouldnt be made to pay for them

making people examples is not ethical

[dsc]

26. I never said she was

but she is responsible for kidnapping her daughter in direct violation of court orders. Custody papers should mean something. They don't, because people like you let scofflaws skate. Give some people involved in this serious sentences, again no more serious than those routinely handed out for minor crack use, and I bet this crap would stop. If it didn't, then keep on sentencing.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

29. yes, but i dont think you would be so enthusiastic about the 15 years if a gay person

wasnt wronged. usually i am right there with you, but 15 is harsh.

[dsc]

30. On this I would

I think we let parents behave beastily in their divorces in way too many ways. Parents who refuse to pay support have often been let to get away with it, parents who refuse to abide by visitation agreements often have been let to get away with that, and parents who use their kids to get back at divorced spouses have been let to get away with that. I could give a flying fig about childless marriages and the nasty divorces which result, but society, via those kids, have an investment in the other divorces. If parents refuse to obey court orders they should be seeing the inside of jail cells. If parents double down by abscounding with children, they should be treated like the criminals they are. It is nothing less than disgraceful that we reward that conduct by making the victims of such behavior pay for the investigation and prosecution of those who engage in that conduct.

[marshall]

14. Even in heterosexual marriages these custody warrants are not effective across state lines

The main recourse the woman has is to hire private investigators to watch the other woman and determine when she crosses into the state where the warrant is filed--and then arrest her.

[dsc]

15. that is nothing short of outrageous

This woman has no more right to that child than I do, and rest assured if some stranger had taken the kid the police would be johnny on the spot. It is a disgrace that we treat this any less strictly.

[cali]

18. huh. of course she has more right to her kid than you do

That's clear from Judge Cohen's decision. He didn't abrogate all parental rights. I'm outraged by this too and believe Cohen made the right decision and that the child's best interests are with Jenkins having physical custody, but c'mon, of course Miller has more right to the child than you.

[dsc]

22. not on that particular day she doesn't

she was ordered, not asked, not pleaded with, but ordered in no uncertain terms to hand that child over. Once she refused she is a kidnapper, period.

[FLDCVADem]

28. Yes on this day

and on any other day.

She's violating a court order and is in contempt. You take the child and you're a kidnapper.

I want her found and I want the order enforced, but she is not a kidnapper.

[dsc]

32. the kid is no longer hers, that is what losing custody means

she lost custody, deservedly, because she repeatedly refused to abide by court orders.

[marshall]

19. This woman was not a stranger

She is the birth mother of the child. Her parental rights were not severed, even by the court order that requires her to turn the child over to her former partner.

[dsc]

23. no she isn't a stranger which makes her crime worse

she knows the people involved and still behaves this way.

[marshall]

27. Unfortunately these sort of custodial "kidnapping" occur all the time

Think about the poor New Jersey man who finally after five years of figthing got his son back, after his wife dragged him off to Brazil. Even after she died the stepfather was able to keep the boy from his father.

[dsc]

31. it happens all the time because we let it happen all the time

put that woman away for 15 years and I bet the next one would think long and hard before doing the same thing. Instead we slap their wrist and say naughty and naughty and are suprized when people pull that stunt.

[cbdo2007]

16. Just another kids life getting screwed up by idiot parents.

[tammywammy]

24. +1

I feel bad for the child. I hope they find Lisa Miller quickly. The best interest of the child is to have both parents in her life, something Lisa Miller has been unwilling to do.

This is the same as if a hetero married couple had IVF done. If they didn't use the father's sperm, if he was infertile or something, then would he not have a right to see his child too? Same deal, Janet has a right to see her child.

[aikoaiko]

20. Jenkins needs to hire a PI.

ASAP.