Every day, biological parents in Illinois and other states around the country are forced to give up custody of their kids when it’s determined that they cannot care for them properly. In such cases, child custody disputes can arise. However, it’s not every day that custody arrangements are challenged from jail. One biological mother is currently appealing a child custody ruling from behind bars, illustrating that even those facing criminal charges can continue to deal with some family law issues.
The custody dispute revolves around a woman in San Diego, California, that allegedly requested that her newborn baby be given to an acquaintance shortly after giving birth in jail. According to the mother, the baby’s father had asked her to give custody to the woman since he was also incarcerated at the time. The biological mother also claims that custody was transferred even though she isn’t close to the woman.
The biological mother is accusing the woman of taking the baby and moving out of town even though the woman allegedly agreed to bring the baby to visit often and remain in the area. The woman is reported to have visited the baby’s parents in jail often before being granted custody.
Because the woman has not allegedly complied with the terms of their custody agreement, the biological mother sought to have the baby placed with her sister. A family court recently denied the request. As a result, the biological mother is accusing the jail of prohibiting her from participating in the custody hearing by phone. She also claims that jail officials did not know about the hearing.
While the biological mother is in the process of appealing the custody ruling, the woman claims that the dispute has already been settled.
Source: utsandiego.com, “Accused killer fights over child custody,” Teri Figueroa, November 2, 2013
