Amber Crosby, a lesbian who lives in Augusta, Ga., regained custody
of her two young children last week when the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that
a juvenile court judge improperly considered Crosby’s sexual orientation.
(Photo by Annette M. Drowlette/Augusta Chronicle)
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By RYAN LEE
Friday, December 24, 2004
ATLANTA — Lawyers in Atlanta and Augusta are
working to reunite a lesbian mother with her two children before Christmas, after
the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 16 that a juvenile court judge improperly
removed the children earlier this year because of the mother’s sexual orientation.
Amber Crosby, a lesbian who lives in Augusta, lost custody of her 7-year-old
son, Ethan, and 4-year-old daughter, Sydney, on Feb. 5 when Richmond County
Juvenile Court Judge Herbert Kernaghan signed an order saying Crosby had “deprived”
her children. The judge split up the children, granting custody to the boy’s
father and the girl’s grandparents.
But a three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled unanimously last
week that the charges brought against Crosby were unsubstantiated. Even if the
charges — which included reports of domestic violence and drug use in
front of the children — were true, they did not justify removing the children
from their mother, the court said.
“Thus, the only remaining basis for the juvenile court’s ruling
is the fact that the mother is involved in a lesbian relationship,” Judge
John Ruffin wrote for the panel.
“Assuming that the mother’s relationship with [girlfriend Angela
Martin] should factor into the juvenile court’s analysis, it should not
be a determining factor unless it is shown that the children have been or might
be harmed in some manner by their mother’s lifestyle,” Ruffin wrote,
noting that no such evidence was shown.
Crosby’s lawyers have asked the appeals court to send an order to the
juvenile court transferring custody to Crosby, said Sherry Barnes, an Augusta
attorney who worked on the case along with the ACLU of Georgia.
“It is our understanding that it may take as much as 10 days, but we
are trying to see if the appeals court can expedite the matter so the children
can be home for Christmas,” Barnes said.
Crosby could not be reached for comment by press time. She told the Augusta
Chronicle that she was “in shock” and “so excited and relieved
that it’s finally over.”
The case began with an anonymous tip made to the state Department of Family
& Children Services in August 2003 that claimed Crosby smoked marijuana
in front of her children and had also been beaten up by her girlfriend, Angela
Martin, in their presence. The call led to the children being removed from Crosby’s
home and a formal DFCS investigation.
On Aug. 29 Crosby signed a custody safety plan that prohibited her from allowing
the children to interact with Martin, an order violated a day later when the
children visited Martin’s mother’s house, according to court papers.
Based on the violation, the children were removed on Sept. 2 and the juvenile
court appointed an investigator to look into Crosby.
Crosby admitted smoking marijuana, but denied that she and Martin ever had
domestic disputes. The juvenile court investigation “found little solid
evidence for [the] allegations,” and the DFCS investigator “said
that she thought the children could be returned to their mother and that DFCS
would continue to monitor the case for six months,” according to court
records.
But on Feb. 5, Kernaghan granted custody of Ethan to his father and stepmother,
and custody of Sydney to her grandparents.
The children’s new guardians were also allowed to determine whether Crosby
could have any contact with her children, said Beth Littrell, an ACLU attorney
who worked on the case.
“They have not been cooperative to allow her to even visit the children,
so we don’t anticipate them being cooperative with helping reunite her
with her children,” Littrell said.
The Georgia Attorney General’s Office, which defended the removal of
the children, can ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling. Representatives
did not respond to interview requests by press time.
Court papers reveal that it was Ethan’s stepmother, Crystal Colter, who
filed the original complaint against Crosby, just weeks after a paternity test
proved that Curtis Colter was the boy’s father and would be required to
pay child support.
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