CUSTODY CASE PUTS CIVIL UNION ON TRIAL: From the Washington Post

It is a painfully familiar story with a modern twist: A young couple fall in love, exchange vows and become parents. They later decide to part, with the custody of the child left for a court to determine.

Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000, merged their last names, and two years later moved from Virginia to this small town in the western part of the state to begin a new life.

Today they are embroiled in an acrimonious tug of war over a 2-year-old girl named Isabella, a case that legal experts say is the most significant custody battle to emerge since same-sex civil unions were established here four years ago and a test of the viability of marriage laws that vary from state to state.

With more than 7,000 gay couples having formed civil unions in Vermont since 2000 and thousands more married in Massachusetts since such unions became legal there in May, what happens to children when such relationships end is an unsettled legal question. Opponents have long argued that relationships sanctioned by some states and not others make for legal chaos and confusion. ...

Lisa Miller-Jenkins, 35, who gave birth to Isabella in Frederick County, Va., in 2002 after becoming pregnant by artificial insemination, is suing for full custody in Virginia, which does not recognize civil unions. Janet Miller-Jenkins, 39, is asking a family court in Vermont, the only state where civil unions are recognized, to award her custody of the child, claiming that Lisa has barred her from seeing Isabella even though under Vermont law she is a co-equal parent. ...

The dispute has mobilized activists on both sides of the gay-marriage issue. Lambda Legal, a prominent gay rights advocacy group in New York, is advising Janet, while Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which opposes gay marriage, is consulting with Lisa.

"This is a shining example of the problems we knew would arise if these things became legal, but couldn't reference specifically before," said Stephen Cable, president of Vermont Renewal, an organization formed amid the backlash against civil unions, known as the "Take Back Vermont" movement.

Cable said that after Lisa contacted his group for help this summer, he helped her find legal representation in Vermont and Virginia. Last month the group sent a six-page fundraising letter to supporters and donors, arguing that Lisa should be entitled to custody because she is Isabella's "natural, responsible and loving mother."

The letter says Lisa is a "former lesbian" and states that "with the help of counselors, church, and [a] caring and Christian brother, she has begun to turn around her life."

Lawyers on both sides said that while it is likely the Vermont court will retain jurisdiction over the custody case, it is unclear whether Virginia will enforce an order based on a civil union law it does not recognize. Under the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution, state courts generally respect and enforce other states' judgments, but there are exceptions. ...

"The principle of one state court enforcing another state court's orders is so enshrined in our legal system that if [it was not enforced], the implications would be severe," said Greg Nevins, a senior staff attorney with Lambda Legal.

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