International Child Custody Dispute before the Supreme Court

08/14/12

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.


The sergeant, Jefferey Chafin is fighting to reverse the decision of a federal appeals court that has allowed his daughter Eris to remain with Jefferey's wife in Scotland. Jeffery has filed for divorce from Lynne Chafin.

According to records, Lynne Chafin is a Scottish national and lived apart from her husband since 2007 because of the nature of his job. Lynne lived with her daughter in Scotland since the time of physical separation from Jeffery, and traveled to visit him in 2010, along with his daughter Erisa, to make an effort to save the marriage. Later, Lynne returned to Scotland after overstaying on her visa. After reaching Scotland she sought the child custody of their daughter following the decision of an Alabama state judge who awarded the child custody to Jeffery.

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.

Jeffrey Chafin holds that the decision of the 11th Circuit was at odds with the view of other federal appeals courts and would result in the denial of custodial rights to a parent of a child who has been wrongfully abducted to another country.

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.