While the court continued to keep children separated from their families, the case began to feel the strain of a lack of evidence.

On May 19, five judges began hearing the hundreds of cases that lawyers complained were cookie-cutter in nature. Service plans are meant to be tailored to each client. But lawyers noted they were drafted with boilerplate language.

By May 22, the case crumbled. The state appellate court overturned state Judge Barbara Walther’s order removing children into state custody. The appellate panel held that Texas failed to prove that all the children were in immediate danger.

The children were going home.

Member of the FLDS leave the Tom Green County Courthouse following hearings on May 19. Photo by AP Images.