Federal Judiciary

In Re Marriage of Fernandez-Abin & Sanchez (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan. 11, 2011)

By Shaun Martin

"In mid-June 2008, husband, accompanied by about 10 armed men carrying assault weapons, went to wife's parents' house [], took the children and never returned them home."

Yikes.

This abduction took place in Tijuana, mind you.  But the children were U.S. citizens, the mother eventually became a legal resident, and the custody case ultimately ends up getting heard -- after various (ineffectual) orders by the Mexican court -- in San Diego, after the Child Abduction Unit of the San Diego D.A.'s office gets the kids (who were in Chula Vista) and reunites them with their mother.

But there are ongoing proceedings in both the U.S. as well as in Mexico.  Which makes for a procedural and jurisdictional nightmare.  Read the whole thing to get a sense.

It's not pretty.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on January 12, 2011 (boomark / email).