News
2006-09-21
Vermont judge to
decide whether to penalize lesbian mother
A family court
judge in Vermont will decide after a hearing whether to
penalize a Virginia woman who failed to comply with a
A family court
judge in Vermont will decide after a hearing whether to
penalize a Virginia woman who failed to comply with a
child-custody ruling that grew out of the breakup of
her civil union. More than two years ago, Judge
William Cohen found Lisa Miller-Jenkins in contempt of
court for failing to comply with his order granting
temporary visitation to Janet Miller-Jenkins, her
former partner.
Following that
ruling, Lisa Miller-Jenkins argued the case should be
heard in Virginia. Last month the Vermont supreme court
rejected her argument and sent the case back to family
court, saying Vermont has exclusive jurisdiction. "The
Vermont supreme court was specific in its remand on
the contempt finding of this court to impose a penalty, and
that needs to be addressed," Cohen said in court Tuesday.
Cohen did not set
a date for the hearing, although he said he would like
to schedule it within the next month or two. Cohen said he
would delay the hearing until after the supreme court
rules on a motion by Lisa Miller-Jenkins's attorneys
asking the high court to reconsider its August ruling.
The attorney for
Janet Miller-Jenkins, Theodore Parisi, said after
Tuesday's hearing that he was not sure what penalty he would
ask the court to impose. Lisa Miller-Jenkins's Vermont
attorney, Judy Barone, said she didn't know if her
client would attend a Vermont hearing.
The women left
Virginia and went to Vermont in 2000 to get a civil union.
They returned home, where Lisa was artificially inseminated
and gave birth to a baby girl, Isabella. Later they
moved to Vermont, where they lived together a little
more than a year before splitting. Courts in Virginia
have ruled the state has jurisdiction in the custody case
and that its laws banning same-sex marriage
control it, Barone said. Many legal observers expect
the underlying custody case eventually to be decided
by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Barone also said
she didn't know what would happen if a Vermont court
penalized her client with her client remaining in Virginia.
"I'm not a Virginia lawyer, so I can't comment on
that," she said. (AP)
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1