Court: Japan has jurisdiction in custody case

[unhappycamper]

Court: Japan has jurisdiction in custody case
By Timberly Ross - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 15:41:06 EST

OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s courts have no jurisdiction over a custody dispute involving a 6-year-old boy, leaving the issue to a Japanese court.

In the ruling issued Friday, the court said a Douglas County district judge had no authority to grant joint custody of the boy to his divorced parents, even though the boy was born in Nebraska and had lived here while in the U.S.

The court determined that under custody law, the child’s residence is considered to be in Japan.

The boy’s father, Stuart Carter, was stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, with the Navy in October 2002, when the boy was about 10 weeks old. When the assignment was up in May 2005, Carter left his wife and brought the child back to Nebraska.

According to court documents, Carter did not tell his wife, Nahoko Hata Carter, that he was going back to the U.S. or that he was taking the boy with him. Within days of arriving in Nebraska, he filed for legal separation and custody of his son.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_japan_custodydispute_120508w/%2e