Texas Supreme Court rules polygamists' children should be returned to families

SAN ANTONIO — In a blow to the state's seizure of children from a polygamist sect's ranch, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that child-welfare officials overstepped their authority and the children should go back to their parents.

The high court affirmed a decision by an appellate court last week, saying Child Protective Services (CPS) failed to show an immediate danger to the more than 400 children taken from the Yearning For Zion ranch nearly two months ago.

"On the record before us, removal of the children was not warranted," the justices said in their ruling issued in Austin.

The high court let stand the appellate court's order that Texas District Judge Barbara Walther return the children from foster care to their parents. It's not clear how soon that may happen, but the appellate court ordered her to do it within a reasonable period.

The ruling shatters one of the largest child-custody cases in U.S. history. State officials said the removals were necessary to end a cycle of sexual abuse at the ranch in which teenage girls were forced to marry and have sex with older men. Parents denied any abuse and said they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Every child at the ranch run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) in the West Texas town of Eldorado was removed; half were 5 or younger.

The April raid on the fenced-off compound, with its towering limestone temple, followed phone calls made by someone who identified herself as a 16-year-old named Sarah. She said she was a child bride who was being abused by her husband.

State officials later disclosed that the calls appeared to have been made by a Colorado woman with a history of making false accusations. They appear to have been a hoax.

CPS officials said Thursday they were disappointed by the ruling but would comply.

"We are disappointed, but we understand and respect the court's decision," agency officials said in a written statement.

FLDS elder Willie Jessop said parents were excited about the decision but would remain apprehensive until they get their children back.

"We're just looking forward to when little children can be in the arms of their parents," he said. "Until you have your children in your hands, there's no relief. But we have hope."

Standing outside the Texas Supreme Court building with attorneys for the families, Martha Emack, mother of a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old, echoed that sentiment.

"I'm happy [when] all the children are back to their mothers and we're home," said Emack, whose children have been staying at an Austin children's shelter.

The case before the court technically applies only to the 124 children of 38 mothers who filed the complaint that prompted the ruling, but it significantly affects nearly all the children since they were removed under identical circumstances.

The 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin ruled last week that the state failed to show that any more than five of the teenage girls were being sexually abused and had offered no evidence of sexual or physical abuse against the other children.

The FLDS, which teaches that polygamy brings glorification in heaven, is a breakaway sect of the Mormon church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Roughly 430 children from the ranch are in foster care after two births, numerous reclassifications of adult women initially held as minors and a handful of agreements allowed parents to keep custody while the Supreme Court considered the case.

Texas officials claimed at one point that there were 31 teenage girls at the ranch who were pregnant or had been pregnant but later conceded that about half of those mothers, if not more, were adults. One was 27.

Under Texas law, children can be taken from their parents if there's a danger to their physical safety, an urgent need for protection and if officials made a reasonable effort to keep the children in their homes.

The high court agreed with the appellate court that the seizures fell short of that standard.

CPS lawyers had argued that parents could remove their children from state jurisdiction if they regain custody, that DNA tests needed to confirm parentage are pending and that the lower-court judge had discretion in the case.

The justices said child-welfare officials can take numerous actions to protect children short of separating them from their parents and placing them in foster care, and Walther may put restrictions on the children and parents to address concerns that they may flee once reunited.

Material from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.