Lawyers meet behind closed doors in FLDS case

Published: Sunday, June 1, 2008 4:28 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
SAN ANGELO, Texas — An order to return hundreds of children taken in a raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch will be filed Monday morning with Judge Barbara Walther.

It will be up to her to sign it.

Lawyers met for several hours this afternoon to try to hammer out a new agreement. There was consensus on some things, but still some disagreements on others, said Brad Haralson, an attorney who represents three FLDS mothers.

A couple of things in the order were tweaked, but attorneys declined to be specific about what.

"It's closer to her version," said Kirk Hawkins, a lawyer representing four FLD mothers, referring to a proposed order put forward by Judge Walther on Friday.

Lawyers for the mothers said they would hope to begin returning the children to their parents starting Tuesday. The Texas Child Protective Services will apply the order to all of the hundreds of children in state custody.

Attorneys had been trying to figure out what to do next after a judge abruptly left the bench on Friday, refusing to sign an order to return the children to their mothers.

The Texas Supreme Court and the Third Court of Appeals in Austin both ruled that Texas child welfare authorities acted improperly in removing more than 450 children from the YFZ Ranch, while it investigated allegations of abuse. The courts ordered Judge Barbara Walther to return more than 130 children to their parents — but allowed her to set conditions.

Story continues below

Negotiations over the terms of the deal broke down in court on Friday, leaving parents unsure of when they will be reunited with their children.

The YFZ Ranch was raided last month when Texas child welfare workers and law enforcement responded to the FLDS property on a report of a 16-year-old girl who was pregnant and in an abusive relationship with an older man. Once on the ranch, authorities said they found other signs of abuse and it prompted Walther to order the removal of all the FLDS children.

Texas authorities are still investigating whether the original call was a hoax.

Recent comments

Disinformation won't do. So, let's correct it.

� At least 20...

Interloper | June 4, 2008 at 8:22 p.m.

The way things are going by this action and the prison without trial...

Freedom 2008 | June 2, 2008 at 11:35 a.m.

To 'Reality Check':

Both the Third Court of Appeals and the Texas...

Archon | June 2, 2008 at 11:21 a.m.

Image
August Miller, Deseret News

Jimmy Stewart, a lawyer representing two FLDS mothers, talks to the media after leaving a closed door meeting in San Angelo, Texas, today, to discuss how to return children taken from the FLDS YFZ Ranch.

previousnext

Latest comments

Didn't Obama and Biden just admit to the fact that the stimilus programs were...

The last part of the article about Cowherd is classic!!! I normally like the...

This man was my teacher in high school. He is my friend, he was like a father...

I like millsap, but portland just burried themselves. They made themselves...

It's amazing how quickly society is willing to vaccinate it's children with...

The first income tax was introduced during the Civil War, that's only 70...

If he really did what the evidence seems to show, I don't think he should be...

Utah needs Portland too much. It's much harder than you think to find good...

Restaurant destroyed by fire

stacy, have you ever eaten there ??

I had Brother Pratt at Viewmont High School my sophomore year... I was really...

Advertisements