Judge orders woman’s arrest in child custody case

A Vermont judge ordered the arrest on Tuesday of Lisa Miller, a Bedford County woman who has refused to turn over her daughter to her former lesbian partner Janet Jenkins - the latest development of the high-profile custody battle that began in 2003.

Miller disappeared several months ago, and her daughter is considered a missing person.

Mathew Staver, Miller’s attorney from Lynchburg-based law firm Liberty Counsel, said neither he nor his office has had contact with Miller since last fall.

“We don’t know where she is and we don’t know anybody who does know her whereabouts,“ Staver said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen found Miller in contempt of court during a Tuesday hearing and issued an arrest warrant.

Capt. Mike Miller, with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office said county officials planned to cooperate with the Vermont court, if they located Lisa Miller.

“If we were to find her, of course, we would uphold any warrant from any state, as long as they would extradite her back,“ he said.

Staver said the Vermont order does not have jurisdiction in Virginia unless it is acknowledged by a Virginia court. Last week, a Bedford County judge refused to issue an arrest warrant, Staver said.

“All I know is what the (Bedford) judge did this past week. The court was aware at that point in time that Lisa had not abided by the order in Vermont.“

Rebecca Glenberg, Jenkins’ attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said that the Vermont courts have the final word in the custody dispute. Her most pressing concern is that Isabella and Miller are found.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this,“ Glenberg said during a phone interview Tuesday. “... Nobody was interested in seeing Lisa Miller go to jail. The point was for Isabella to have a relationship with both of her parents.“

Miller and Jenkins were granted a civil union in Vermont in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller through artificial insemination in 2002. The couple broke up in 2003, and Miller moved to Virginia, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian.

The question of whether Virginia, which does not recognize same-sex unions, is required to enforce a custody order from a state that does, is currently playing out in the Virginia Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from Miller’s and Jenkins’ lawyers in early December, and a ruling is pending.

The ACLU, representing Jenkins, argued that the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, a federal law designed to protect children involved in custody disputes, gives Vermont jurisdiction, even if it involves a same-sex union. Without this protection, parents might move from state to state until they reach a favorable custody ruling, Glenberg said.

“Once a court in one state takes jurisdiction of a child custody dispute and starts issuing orders relating to custody and visitation, the courts in other states have to respect those orders.“

Liberty Counsel argued on behalf of Miller that Virginia is not required to enforce a Vermont order arising out of a same-sex union when the Virginia Code and Constitution declares such orders “void and unenforceable,“ according to court documents.

“It really goes to the core of the issue (of enforcement)“ Staver said, who expects the case to be heard by the Virginia Supreme Court.

Staver said that the Virginia Marriage Affirmation Act provides an exception to the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act.

“With same-sex marriage or same-sex unions, individual states have the autonomy to have its own laws,“ Staver said.

In the meantime, lawyers on both sides said that Miller and her daughter must be located for the custody case to move forward.

On Tuesday evening, a woman who was not Lisa Miller answered the door at Miller’s last known residence in Forest, and said she had moved in a couple of weeks ago.

Staver said efforts are currently under way to track down Miller through a locator service.

-News & Advance staff reporter Dave Thompson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.