The Texas State Third Court of Appeals in Austin has ruled that child welfare officials did not have grounds under state law for removing more than 400 children from their parents last month. The officials moved to seize the children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) on the basis of anonymous phone call to a child abuse hotline claiming to be from an minor girl in the sect who had been forced to marry a close relative who was physically & sexually abusing her. That individual has never been identified, & there was some initial evidence that the call had actually come from a much older woman who had made other fraudulent calls from Colorado previously on other crisis issues. Child welfare officials had argued that the sect forced underage girls to marry & raised underage boys to believe they should become adult predators.

The appeals court rulled that the grounds were "legally & factually insufficient." The appealate court argued that the only grounds for taking children from their homes without court proceedings would be a clear demonstration that the children were in immediate danger.

For the full story: Appellate Court Overturns Polygamist Sect Custory Decision.