"Give me a break! Their children are 4, 2 and 1. They've been physically examined six ways from Sunday!" she told the Deseret News.

Haas, a former judge, expressed anger last month, accusing CPS attorneys of being dishonest and uncooperative. After both sides reached an agreement, Kelly said a "two-hour struggle" followed before Haas went back to the judge to complain that CPS was not following the court's order to return the children.

Now, in declining to negotiate, Kelly said CPS attorneys are "going out of their way to be uncooperative, to put it mildly."

CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner declined to comment on the allegations.

Because the Jessop children were in foster facilities near San Antonio, Haas' legal strategy was to make a case for the family before a judge there. That led to the restraining order and a temporary custody agreement. She is hoping a judge there will continue to agree with her arguments.

"The court has a broad range of power in the situation. It can remove the children from any state authority, including all restrictions placed on other families by a San Angelo district court judge, or it can send the case back to the San Angelo court," Kelly said.

Whether the San Antonio decisions set any precedents for the other FLDS families remains to be seen.

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E-mail: bwest@desnews.com