Appeals court rules Texas acted improperly in removing FLDS children

ELDORADO, Texas — An Austin appeals court has ruled that Texas child welfare authorities acted improperly in removing more than 450 children from the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch.

The 3rd Court of Appeals ruled on a legal challenge by a group of FLDS mothers seeking to have their children returned to them immediately.

Lawyers for the mothers said the ruling only affects 38 FLDS mothers and their children, but they expect it will be interpreted by the courts to include the hundreds of other children taken in the early April raid.

"CPS was not justified in removing these children," said Cynthia Martinez of the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid Society, which is representing the mothers. "They did not provide any evidence that the children were in danger, and they acted hastily in removing the children."

It is unclear if the children will be returned immediately to the ranch.

An FLDS mother, wearing a long brown dress, openly cried at a press conference this afternoon detailing the appeals court's decision.

Attorney Julie Balovich called it a "great day for families. We are ecstatic about this news. The court stood up for these families."

The ruling means 51st District Judge Barbara Walther has 10 days to follow the judicial order and decide what to do with the children. All of the status hearings scheduled for today and Friday have been postponed in light of the ruling. Walther and four other judges have been overseeing those hearings since Monday.

Balovich said that the ruling means, essentially, that the FLDS belief system alone does not constitute physical abuse to children.

The court ruled that removing children from homes should only occur "when the circumstances indicate a danger to the physical health and welfare of the children and the need for protection of the children is so urgent that immediate removal of the children from the home is necessary."

Texas CPS officials argued that there were five minor females at the ranch who became pregnant while 15 or 16 years old and said all children were in danger because of the FLDS belief system condoning underage marriage and pregnancy. CPS also considered the entire YFZ Ranch as a single household and argued children shouldn't be returned there because sexual abuse had occurred in that household.

The appeals court ruling said CPS failed to present evidence of physical danger to children who hadn't reached puberty, nor evidence that pubescent female children were in physical danger other than the "pervasive system of belief" condoning polygamy and underage females having children.