From
Lambda LegalToday, in a victory for a lesbian mother who has been denied visitation with her daughter,
the Virginia Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the Commonwealth of Virginia has no say in a custody dispute that began in Vermont between Janet Jenkins and her former partner Lisa Miller. The Virginia Court ordered that federal law governing interstate child custody disputes requires that "full faith and credit" be granted to the custody and visitation orders of the Vermont Court. Because of this important victory, Jenkins is much closer to seeing her four-year-old daughter again.
Lambda Legal represented Janet Jenkins in Virginia, together with the ACLU of Virginia, the Equality Virginia Education Fund and lead attorney Joe Price of Arent Fox. Jenkins is represented in Vermont by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), which obtained a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court in August affirming Jenkins' visitation rights.
We are inspired by the powerful fight that Janet Jenkins has made for her daughter and for respect and dignity under the law for her family, grateful for the work of our colleagues and proud of the role that Lambda Legal has played in representing Jenkins in Virginia.
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Ruling is in
PDF format.
