Florida readers may be interested in a sort of cautionary tale involving a child custody case gone awry in Minnesota. A couple with five children divorced in 2004. The subsequent years' child custody proceedings have involved the divorced parents and their children, but also social workers and the civil and criminal court systems. Though no specifics were provided in a local news report, the mother claims to have feared for her children's safety when they were with the father. And yet the father had custody of at least one 13-year-old daughter in 2010. The mother and father have a history of dueling protective orders over the years, but the situation appears to have boiled out of control on Halloween in 2010.

The 13-year-old apparently ran away from her father's home that night, though the reasons why were not revealed. It appears that she had help escaping, and was transported by several people (including an older sister) to Canada by way of Michigan, where she met her mother. When the mother attempted to reenter the United States, her child custody case quickly became a criminal matter. Though she explained to Border Patrol representatives that she and her daughters were in Canada to explore refugee status, she was placed under arrest and returned to Minnesota for a criminal trial. Representing herself in court, she was found guilty by a jury on three counts of depriving her ex-husband of parental rights.

While the mother now faces a prison sentence for her criminal conduct, the case demonstrates the ferocity with which child custody disputes can be contested. It also indicates that those who take the law into their own hands rarely achieve the result for which they hope. In this matter, the mother would likely have been better served by retaining the services of an attorney experienced in all aspects of family law and procedure. Whether in Florida, Minnesota or elsewhere, the mission of family courts concerning child custody disputes is to divine what is truly best for the children, and to ensure that they do not become pawns in a broader war.

Source: Chaska Herald, "Long custody battle produces guilty verdict," Richard Crawford, Dec. 28, 2011