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FLDS Children Remain In Custody As Legal Issues Swirl Around Them

By Howard Friedman

On Friday, Texas District Judge Barbara L. Walther ruled that the 416 children taken from the compound of the FLDS sect in Eldorado, Texas (see prior posting) would remain in state custody, at least for now. She also ordered DNA paternity testing for all the children. (Ft. Worth Star Telegram.) Sunday's Los Angeles Times says that an individual hearings on each child's status will be held by June 5, using judges from around the state. It also reports on the quick response of the Texas bar to the legal needs of the parties:

At the beginning of last week, mass e-mails were sent out to attorneys appealing for volunteers. There was a run on paper as court officials sought to make thousands of copies so each attorney would have all of the filings. A 3 1/2 -hour training session was set up in a local bank to train attorneys on family code laws. As attorneys from across the state signed up to offer their services for free, hotels booked up in the college town of San Angelo. E-mails went out appealing for locals to offer spare rooms, sofas and cots.

Sunday's Salt Lake Tribune says that the breadth of the court's custody ruling may set the stage for a constitutional test of the ban on polygamy. Meanwhile today's Christian Science Monitor discusses the unusual public relations campaign undertaken by the FLDS women who are attempting to regain custody of their children.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on April 21, 2008 (boomark / email).