Protective custody

“ But a mother can apply to the court for an order that she may have the exclusive care of her children while they are respectively under seven years of age; and after that age, for leave of access to them at reasonable times, in cases where husband and wife do not live together. In case of the divorce of the parents, the court will give directions as to the custody of the children of the marriage, taking into consideration the offence against morality of the guilty parent, but also what is best for the children’s education and upbringing and prospects in life. ”

“ If the parties have children, such of them as are so young as to need a mother’s care are temporarily awarded to the woman’s custody even though she be the party declared to be guilty in the divorce suit. ”

“ The disposition of the children is entirely within the discretion of the court, and the custody may be given to either party or may be taken from both and given to a guardian, if it can be shown that neither parent is a proper person to care for them. The best good of the child will be the first and most important consideration in determining to whom the custody shall be given. ”

“ In considering an application for the return of a child, the Court may require the applicant to obtain from a court or other competent organ in the state where the child's habitual residence is, a decision that the removal or retention of the child is in breach of the rights of custody. ”

“ Fathers and mothers are given equal guardianship of children in the District of Columbia and nine States—Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York and Washington. (See Pennsylvania.) In all others the father has the sole custody and control of the persons, education, earnings and estates of minor children. Where this right is abused the mother can obtain custody only by applying for separation or divorce or proving in court the unfitness of the father. ”

“ The custody of children is given to the party who has obtained the divorce, unless the court, on the application of the family, or the ministère public, consider it better, in the interests of the children, that custody should be given to the other party or a third person; but in every case the right of both father and mother to supervise the maintenance and education of the children, and their liability to contribute to their support, are continued. ”

“ In case of separation only, the petitioner may be assigned a separate maintenance out of the property of the husband or wife as the case may be.
The father is the legal guardian of the minor children. At his death the mother is entitled to the guardianship and custody. The mother may be appointed guardian by the court during the husband’s lifetime. If he is insane or has deserted or neglected his children she is entitled to full custody. ”

“ Where the defendant father has a farm home and all the boys express strong desire to remain with him, it is held, that it does not appear that their welfare would be promoted by transferring their custody to the mother, where it does not appear that she has a home to which to take them or what her plans are. ”

“ Protection of the right of each parent to participate in the upbringing of her or his own children is a further discrete interest that the State recognizes by the statute. The common law historically has given recognition to the right of parents, not merely to be notified of their children's actions, but to speak and act on their behalf. Absent a showing of neglect or abuse, a father "possessed the paramount right to the custody and control of his minor children, and to superintend their education and nurture." ”

“ A child awaiting trial should on no account be sent to prison. If safe custody of the person is essential, some grown person in whom the court has confidence must be made responsible for the care of the child. ”

“ The society voluntarily took the child there with the intention that it should remain. Through imposition the child was placed in custody of those unfit to receive or maintain control over it, and, as above stated, came into the custody and possession of the respondent.
The child was within the jurisdiction of the court under such circumstances that rival claimants of the right of custody might invoke the jurisdiction of a competent court of the territory to determine, not the right of personal freedom, but to which custodian a child of tender years should be committed. ”

“ If the centrality of the mother-child relationship — custody — is being challenged, then the state's interest must be subject to strict justification. The state must demonstrate that its policy of separation really is needed to protect the child. A child may not be taken on the ground, for example, of bureaucratic convenience. Where the state's custody can be demonstrated not to protect, but often to harm, the child, the justification of the state policy is further attenuated. ”

“ The standard of proof of a claim of abuse or neglect by a parent shall be beyond a reasonable doubt as established by conviction for a criminal offense, and there shall be an absolute presumption of innocence absent such degree of proof.
(1) Death of both parents. In the event neither parent of a child is living, custody of a child may vest with the legal custodian of the child, pursuant to [cite state-specific Statute on non-parental custody requirements] , or the state, pursuant to [cite state-specific Statute on juvenile dependency] . ”

“ Moreover, the father, about to die, may bind out all his children wherever and to whomsoever he may see fit, and thus, in fact, will away the guardianship of all his children from the mother. The Revised Statutes of New York provide that "every father, whether of full age or a minor, of a child to be born, or of any living child under the age of twenty-one years, and unmarried, may by his deed or last will, duly executed, dispose of the custody and tuition of such child during its minority, or for any less time, to any person or persons, in possession or remainder." ”

“ In one state a distinction has been drawn between personal rights of the parents and the interest of the state in the welfare of the child: unless there is an allegation that the best interest of the child requires a change in custody, the parties will be bound. ”

“ HELD further that before a juvenile court may commit a child to the state training school it must be found that the child is delinquent, and that the parents, guardian or custodian are unfit or improper guardians, or are unwilling to care for, protect, educate or discipline the child, and that it is for the interest of the child and the people of the state that the child be taken from the custody of its parents, custodian or guardian. ”

“ But 'the inherent rights of parents to enjoy the society and association of their offspring with reasonable opportunity to impress upon them a father's or a mother's love and affection in their upbringing, must be regarded as being of an equally important, if not controlling, consideration in adjusting the right of custody as between parents in ordinary cases.' Frazier v. Frazier, 109 Fla. at page 169, 147 So. at page 466. Facts which have arisen since the original decree are one basis for modification of the custody decree. ”

“ The parents or other guardians of minors shall, upon receiving notices from the entrusted person, residents' committee, villagers' committee, schools, and kindergartens, about the psychological and behavioral abnormalities of minors, take timely intervention measures.
Article 24 When a minor's parents decide upon divorce, they shall properly handle matters of the upbringing, education, visitation, property of a minor child, and hear the opinions of the minor who has the ability to express his will. The parents shall not be allowed to struggle for custody by seizing or hiding the minor child. ”

“ And, again, "It is far more just and merciful to take care alike of the accused and of society, by confining in secure custody the doubtfully conscious shedder of blood, than to incur the fearful hazard of putting to death an irresponsible agent." ”

“ A father's right to the custody of his own children being founded in law on the right of guardianship, this being taken away, they may of course be severed from him, and put by the authority of the court, into more orthodox hands. ”

“ If he is insane or has deserted or neglected his children she is entitled to full custody.
If the wife is deserted by her husband unjustifiably and not supported by him, she may receive authority from the court for the custody and earnings of her minor children, and he may be imprisoned not less than six months nor more than three years. If he abandon her and is absent from the State one year or more or is condemned to prison for a year or more, the court can order the income from his property applied to the support of his family. ”

“ Custody is viewed not with the idea of adjudicating rights in the children, as if they were chattels, but rather with the idea of making the best disposition possible for the welfare of the children. To speak of a court's 'cutting off' a mother's right to custody of her children, as if it raised problems similar to those involved in 'cutting off' her rights in a plot of ground, is to obliterate these obvious distinctions. Personal jurisdiction of all parties to be affected by a proceeding is highly desirable, to make certain that they have had valid notice and opportunity to be heard. ”

“ It will be seen from this that the father alone has the absolute legal right to deal with his child or children, to the extent of separating them, at his own sole pleasure, from their mother, and of giving them into the care and custody of any person whom he may think fit. ”

“ The passage of even a relatively short period of time may work great changes, although difficult of ascertainment, in the needs of a developing child. Subtle, almost imperceptible, changes in the fitness and adaptability of custodians to provide for such needs may develop with corresponding rapidity. A court that is called upon to determine to whom and under what circumstances custody of an infant will be granted cannot, if it is to perform its function responsibly, be bound by a prior decree of another court, irrespective of whether 'changes in circumstances' are objectively provable. ”

“ Willful abandonment of a minor child, leaving it in a dependent condition, is a misdemeanor. [5] The mere loss of custody by the father does not relieve him of his obligation to provide for maintenance and education, even where the custody passes to the mother pursuant to a decree of divorce. [6] If the father fails to make such provision, any person (including a divorced wife) who furnishes necessaries of life to his minor child may recover from him therefor, unless precluded by the terms of the decree in the divorce suit or otherwise. ”

“ The parents are the natural guardians of their minor children and are equally entitled to the care and custody of them. [§3432.] While a parent is the natural guardian of his child, this guardianship is not absolute, and may be lost by any misconduct on the part of the parent which would render it not best for the child to remain in his care and under his control. The duty of furnishing support to minor children rests equally upon both parents, but neither one is legally liable for the support of their adult children. ”

“ When any court having jurisdiction over a child shall commit it or remand it to an institution or agency or place it in the custody of any person by parole, placing out, adoption or guardianship, the child shall be committed or remanded or placed, when practicable, in an institution or agency governed by persons, or in the custody of a person, of the same religious persuasion as the child. ”

“ And the mere fact that the maternal relatives who have had the care of the child from its birth have become attached to it and desire to continue to care for it and are able to secure it better advantages than its parent, does not render the parent unsuitable to have its care and custody within the meaning of the statute. ”

“ This is particularly true where, as here, the estrangement of husband and wife beclouds parental judgment with emotion and prejudice. In Virginia, the parents cannot make agreements which will bind courts to decide a custody case one way or the other. The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has emphasized this deep-rooted Virginia policy by declaring: 'The custody and welfare of children are not the subject of barter.' Buchanan v. ”

“ How does the custody of the infant justify, or lead to, the imputation of another’s fault to him? The law, natural and civil, puts the infant under the care of the adult, but how can this right to care for and protect be construed into a right to waive, or forfeit, any of the legal rights of the infant? The capacity to make such waiver or forfeiture is not a necessary, or even convenient, incident of this office of the adult, but, on the contrary, is quite inconsistent with it, for the power to protect is the opposite of the power to harm, either by act or omission. ”