LAMBDA LEGAL ARCHIVE SITETHIS SITE IS NO LONGER MAINTAINED. TO SEE OUR MOST RECENT CASES AND NEWS, VISITNEW LAMBDALEGAL.ORG
Court: Vt. ruling stands in lesbian custody case
Find Your State
Know the laws in your state that protect LGBT people and people living with HIV.
Legal Help Desk
Publication Source & URL:
Associated Press
6/9/2008
"Virginia's highest court ruled Friday that the state must enforce a Vermont court order awarding child-visitation rights to a mother's former lesbian partner.
"The Virginia Supreme Court rejected Lisa Miller's claim that a lower court improperly ignored a Virginia law and a state constitutional amendment that prohibit same-sex unions and the recognition of such arrangements from other states.
"The ruling was a victory for Janet Jenkins, who has been fighting for visitation rights since the dissolution of the civil union she and Miller obtained in Vermont in 2000. In 2002, Miller gave birth to the daughter, Isabella, who now is at the center of a legal battle closely watched by national conservative and gay rights groups.
"...'I'm relieved that this tug-of-war with my daughter is over,' Jenkins said in a statement released by the gay-rights group Lambda Legal. 'This has been a very long four years. My daughter and I need some time to be together. She needs her other mom.'"