May 24, 2008 12:30 am US/Eastern
Texas To Reunite 12 Sect Kids With Parents
DALLAS, Texas (CBS) ―
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State child welfare authorities on Friday appealed a stinging court
ruling that said their seizure of more than 440 children from a
polygamist sect's ranch was unjustified, but they also agreed to
reunite 12 children with their parents while the case moves on.
The agreement narrowly specifies 12 children, some of whose parents had
filed a motion with a state district court in San Antonio for their
release from state foster care.
Joseph Jessop and his wife were reunited with their 4-year-old, 2-year-old and 1-year-old children. Jessop said that waiting for this day has been overwhelming. "You could only know how it is if it's you," he said.
Hours earlier, Child Protective Services asked the Texas State Supreme Court to block Thursday's ruling by a Texas appeals court, which ordered CPS to return more than 400 children to their parents.
Dallas family law attorney Brad Lamorgese said, "They're likely to grant a stay, because if they don't, it will trump their ability to hear this case if all the children are returned."
On Thursday, the appeals court ruled that CPS did not show required evidence that the children were in urgent physical danger at the polygamist sect's West Texas ranch.
FLDS spokesman Rod Parker said, "The children have been psychologically damaged by what the state did, and it's going to take a long time to repair that damage."
In its appeal, CPS said, "The children appeared to have a pervasive belief that when Uncle Merrill decided for them to be married, they would be married. No age was too young to marry and they wanted to have as many babies as they could."
Dallas attorney Susan Hays represents a 2-year-old girl, and said that it is understandable how CPS initially felt this way. "But it's now been one and a half months, two months, and it doesn't take long to get birth certificates," she said. "What we're finding out is that a lot of those underage girls are really adult women."
A spokeman said that the state Supreme Court justices have asked for all of the court documents in the case, and that likely means that they will be working through the long holiday weekend.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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