Nowata court hearing held today in Baby Veronica case

Source: Tulsa World, Okla.自存倉Aug. 30--NOWATA -- Baby Veronica's biological father huddled briefly with attorneys and left about 10 minutes after the end of Friday's hearing, looking somber but giving no comment.The adoptive parents waited an hour to leave the Nowata County Courthouse and left through a back passage to avoid the media, giving no indication of what had happened or where they were going.A few protestors, with Stand Your Ground for Veronica Brown signs, had gathered in front of the courthouse steps.South Carolina sent three law enforcement officers to Oklahoma on Thursday apparently in anticipation of this morning's hearing, which lasted about 45 minutes.A court order from South Carolina, issued earlier this month to transfer custody back to the adoptive parents, was sent to Nowata County because Veronica has lived here with her biological father since he gained custody in 2011.Oklahoma law gave Dusten Brown the right to request a hearing to challenge that out-of-state court order.Washington County District Judge Curtis DeLapp was in Nowata, an hour north of Tulsa, to hear the case, according to court officials.DeLapp's office declined to comment or provide a court docket to the Tulsa World. Brown's attorney also declined to comment, citing a gag order imposed two weeks ago in Cherokee County.Technically, the Cherokee County case is a separate effort to enforce the South Carolina court order.The Brown family moved Veronica to tribal trust land near Tahlequah last month, after a Cherokee Nation court gave guardianship to her stepmother and grandparents.Brown was leaving the state for National Guard duties and Cherokee officials wanted to move his family where tribal marshals could provide round-the-clock security, officials have said.Matt and Melanie Capobianco filed a writ of habeas corpus Aug. 15, after reality TV personality Troy "The Locator" Dunn discovered where the Brown family was staying.A judge demanded that Brown, his wife and his parents all appear in court Aug. 16. That three-hour hearing ended with both sides agreeing to try mediation.But the judge also sealed all records in the case and impose a gag order that has left the case shrouded in secrecy ever since.No迷你倉新蒲崗one can say whether the ordered mediation ever happened. Court dockets have even been redacted to remove information that was previously available.Last week, for example, the Cherokee County docket showed a request from an attorney who had been appointed by the court to represent Veronica.The attorney wanted to suspend visits with the Capobiancos, the first public indication that any visits had been allowed.But it's not clear when or how often the adoptive parents have seen the girl. It's also not clear what effect Friday's hearing in Nowata will have on the proceedings in Cherokee County, 90 miles away -- much less separate proceedings in Cherokee Nation court.The tribe has claimed jurisdiction of the case because Veronica and her father are both members of the tribe.Records in Cherokee County are so secretive that it's not known when any hearings have been scheduled or what judge will preside over the case, or even if the case will remain in Cherokee County.In still other proceedings, Brown will have an extradition hearing next month in Sequoyah County.He faces a complaint of "custodial interference" in South Carolina, a felony that carries up to five years in prison.The Capobiancos and the Brown family have been fighting over custody for nearly 4 years, nearly the girls's entire life, taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.The Capobiancos arranged a private adoption with Brown's ex-fiancee. But Brown said he was misled when he signed away his parent rights, thinking he only giving custody to the birth mother.South Carolina courts ruled that he had not given voluntary consent to the adoption, and Brown took custody of his daughter in December 2011.But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this summer that South Carolina had misapplied federal law in the case, and told the state courts to reconsider the decision.The state Supreme Court gave legal custody back to the Capobiancos last month.But Brown and the Cherokee Nation have challenged South Carolina's jurisdiction, since Veronica has lived in Oklahoma for nearly two years now.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉出租