On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the challenge made to a lower court ruling by a U.S. Army sergeant over a child custody award that gave the custody of his 5-year old daughter to her mother in Scotland, following the terms of an international treaty.
In October 2011, U.S. District Judge Inge Prytz Johnson in Huntsville, Alabama ruled that the daughter, Erisa, should be returned to Scotland, as Scotland was the ‘habitual residence' of the child, and the court required to take that into consideration under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. In February, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out Jeffrey's appeal holding that the issue was moot as the girl was already in Scotland pursuant to the lower court's order.
Michael Manely, the lawyer for Jeffrey said that the decision could affect the lives of many service personnel who are stationed around the world and separated from children they had with non-U.S. nationals. He said, “The 11th Circuit said, if a child leaves the jurisdiction, we're powerless … That's different from the rest of the world as it relates to the respect that different courts have for each other's determinations as to jurisdiction.”
Stephen Cullen, a lawyer from Scotland representing Lynne Chafin said the Hague Convention often comes into play in cross-border custody battles involving military personnel. He said, “You've got this child who's like a ping pong ball, and no one knows who's supposed to decide the custody question.”
The case is Chafin v. Chafin, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 11-1347.
