Religious Law

State Wrongly Removed 400 FLDS Kids, Texas Appeals Court Says

Updated: Texas officials exceeded their authority by taking some 400 children of a religious sect from their parents at the Yearning for Zion ranch last month and putting them in foster care, a state appeals court says. Responding to a mandamus filing by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, the Third Court…

May 22, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

Texas Plans for FLDS Kids Unclear & Unfair, Lawyers Say

Plans discussed in court hearings today to reunite some 465 children removed from a communal ranch home in Texas last month with at least their mothers during the next year are so unclear that it’s impossible to comply with them, lawyers for some parents and children say. Some also are…

May 19, 2008 10:25 PM CDT

FLDS Children Interviewed By Police Without Legal Counsel, Attorney Says

A lawyer for several of the approximately 465 children removed from a Texas ranch run by a religious sect that reportedly advocates polygamy says her clients and others throughout the state are being interviewed by authorities without their attorneys present. While that apparently may be legal, as far as child…

May 16, 2008 11:31 PM CDT

New Texas Rules for FLDS Moms May Distance Them from Their Faith

As new hearings are about to begin Monday in the case of some 464 children of a fundamentalist religious sect removed from their communal ranch homes over allegations of sexual abuse, Texas child welfare officials have reportedly drafted family reunion goals that may force mothers to choose between their children…

May 15, 2008 5:17 PM CDT

Special Prosecutor to Oversee FLDS Ranch Raid Criminal Cases

The state attorney general will serve as special prosecutor in all criminal cases arising from a raid early last month on a Texas ranch run by a religious sect that reportedly promotes polygamy and underage “spiritual” marriages of teenagers to much older men. It isn’t clear exactly what criminal cases…

May 6, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

Texas Ranch Raid Sparks Senate Leader’s Call for Federal Task Force

Sparks flew in Arizona, Nevada and Utah last week after the Senate majority leader criticized prosecutors in those states for not being as aggressive as Texas authorities in pursuing claimed child abuse among a religious sect that reportedly advocates polygamy and “spiritual” marriages of underage teenage girls to much older…

May 5, 2008 11:04 PM CDT

Texas Changed Marriage Age to Restrict Rights of Polygamy Ranch Residents

Much has been written, in recent weeks, about the number of teen girls entering into “spiritual” underage marriages at a Texas ranch from which some 462 children were removed last month. However, it was not until the fringe religious group that operates the ranch, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ…

May 2, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Texas Appeals Court Refuses Emergency Relief in Ranch Raid Case

After a state appellate court’s denial of emergency relief concerning 462 children in a religious sect that were removed from a Texas ranch in a several-day raid early this month, all involved are settling in for what appears likely to be a lengthy course of litigation. Except for babies, the…

Apr 28, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

Lawyers Who Support Religious Liberties Question Polygamy Case

Some lawyers who support religious freedoms are questioning the removal of more than 400 children from a polygamous sect. These lawyers argue that evidence of some underage girls being forced into marriage doesn’t merit the wholesale removal of all children from a Texas ranch. An emergency appellate hearing in the…

Apr 25, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Texas Appeals Court to Hear Emergency Challenge in Polygamy Ranch Raid

As Texas officials separated more than 100 mothers from their children in a controversial 462-child custody case concerning a religious sect that has advocates polygamy and teenage marriages, a state appeals court has agreed to hear a due-process challenge on an emergency basis. (The number of children said to be…

Apr 25, 2008 12:11 AM CDT

Child Protection v. the Constitution: Did Removal of 437 Kids Violate Parents’ Rights?

Updated: As the state of Texas proceeds with DNA tests this week to try to determine exactly who parents and siblings are in a controversial custody case that, at last count, involved 437 children, lawyers for the families—as well as some observers—are expressing concern about possible violations of parents’ constitutional…

Apr 22, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

Young Children Removed from Texas Ranch Not Abused, State’s Expert Says

Updated: In the second day of a massive 416-child custody hearing, at least one expert for the state of Texas testified today that there was no sign of abuse among the boys and younger girls removed from a ranch run by a polygamous sect. Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist, testified…

Apr 18, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

Huge 416-Child Custody Hearing in Texas Ranch Raid Involves 350 Lawyers

Updated: A huge custody hearing began today concerning 416 children taken by Texas officials from a ranch operated by a renegade Mormon sect that reportedly promotes polygamy. It bogged down almost immediately as lawyers for the children demanded to see the evidence being introduced—three teenagers’ medical records. “State District Judge…

Apr 17, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

Mothers in Texas Ranch Raid Case Protest Removal of Children

Updated: As all involved gear up for a huge child custody hearing Thursday over 416 children removed from a Texas ranch run by a renegade Mormon group that allegedly promotes polygamy and underage marriages, a number of mothers are protesting that their children have been removed from their custody without…

Apr 15, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Dozens of Lawyers at Custody Hearing for 416 Kids from Texas Ranch

In preparation for a massive custody hearing Thursday concerning 416 children taken by the state of Texas from a ranch run by a renegade Mormon group that advocates polygamy, a preliminary hearing was held today that drew some 48 lawyers. District Judge Barbara Walther “was clearly struggling with how to…

Apr 14, 2008 4:16 PM CDT