Same-Sex Marriage, Child Custody, and the Miller Perspective

This week in my Conflict of Laws course we arrived at the subject of interstate disputes over judgments in child custody cases.  This led us to the case(s) of Miller v. Jenkins (or, as our book listed it, Janet Miller-Jenkins v. Lisa Miller-Jenkins).  A good summary of the case from the New York Times is available here, but here is my attempt to lay out the facts in as brief a manner as I can.

The Miller v. Jenkins series of cases arose from a string of complicated facts.  Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2000.  Lisa gave birth through artificial insemination during this union, but eventually filed a petition for dissolution of the union in 2003.  The Vermont court released a temporary order granting Lisa custody of the child, Isabella, and giving Janet visitation rights.

This is where things got chaotic.

Lisa went to Virginia and sought a court order that she be declared the sole parent of Isabella.  Before the Virginia court released its order, the Vermont court issued a ruling reaffirming its jurisdiction.  Nevertheless, the Virginia court declared that Lisa was Isabella's sole parent and that Janet had no rights of visitation.  The Vermont court then held Lisa in contempt for failing to allow Janet to visit Isabella in violation of the court's custody order.

Litigation ensued, and the courts ultimately decided that the Virginia trial court's decision had violated the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (28 U.S.C. 1738A).  Despite this outcome, Lisa continued to refuse Janet's visitation requests and was again held in contempt for violating the Vermont trial court's order.  Each time she was held in contempt, Lisa would appeal the ruling.  Eventually, the Vermont court ordered that Janet be given sole custody of Isabella.

Lisa took Isabella and, with the aid of various religious organizations, fled to Ontario.  From there they flew to El Salvador and ultimately to Nicaragua.  Timothy Miller (no relation to Lisa) was a missionary who flew with Lisa and Isabella to Nicaragua and was later arrested for aiding and abetting kidnapping.  Kenneth Miller, a pastor (also no relation to Lisa), was also involved in the scheme.  He helped purchase clothing to disguise Lisa and Isabella as Mennonites, secured their travel plans, and was ultimately arrested and convicted for aiding and abetting the kidnapping, and sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Lisa and Isabella have not yet been located.

The casebook that presented this case told the story of the case's aftermath in the notes, and noted that it seemed strange that conservative religious organizations helped Lisa as much as they did.  Lisa, after all, had been in a same sex union, which Kenneth and Timothy Miller would have considered an afront to their beliefs.

News coverage of the story provides some insight into the full state of affairs.  Additionally, the pastors and organizations involved in Lisa's flight have blogged extensively on their points of view, and this provides a dimension of the story that seemed lacking in the cases, casebook, and media coverage.  Because this angle of the story investigates Lisa Miller's circumstances (and involves an oddly large number of people named "Miller"), I call it the "Miller Perspective."

Bernard Goetz Arrested for Attempting to Sell Marijuana

The New York Times reports:

Nearly three decades after becoming notorious as the subway rider who shot four teenagers on a Manhattan train, Bernard H. Goetz found himself back in the news on Saturday, after being charged with trying to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer.

Mr. Goetz, 65, was arrested Friday evening after attempting to sell $30 worth of marijuana to the female officer, the police said. The officer approached him in Union Square and asked if he was selling, according to the police. Mr. Goetz said that he was, and went back to his apartment. When he returned, about 7:30 p.m., he was arrested.

The Goetz case -- where Goetz opened fire on several black youths in a New York subway car -- is a widely-taught case in criminal law courses.  The case's rich (and disturbing) facts and racial dynamics effectively illustrate the debate over whether courts should adopt objective theories of self-defense (whether a reasonable person would have felt endangered) or subjective theories (whether the defendant actually felt endangered).  Goetz argued for a subjective interpretation of the law and failed, but was ultimately found not guilty of the attempted murder charges at trial.

While Goetz's most recent arrest is for a minor offense, I felt that the case was worth noting, given his notoriety in the world of criminal law scholarship.