According to the Supreme Court docket sheet for Abbott v. Abbott, three amicus curiae briefs were filed last week in support of the respondent, Jacquelyn Abbott, who is arguing that rights under a non-removal (or ne exeat) order should not be enforceable with a return order under the Child Abduction Convention. The new amicus briefs were filed for the University of Cincinnati College of Law Domestic Violence and Civil Protection Order Clinic, the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project, and a group of Eleven Law Professors.
In September, amicus briefs supporting the petitioner, Timothy Abbott, were filed by the United States, the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the state of California, and a group including the S&W International Childfind Program, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles. In addition, the Reunite International Child Abduction Centre filed an amicus brief describing the English law on the treaty issue before the Supreme Court.
Along with other appellate documents, the Abbott briefs are available in pdf format on Westlaw. Oral argument is set for Tuesday, January 12, 2010; a transcript of the arguments will be posted the same day that argument is heard on the Supreme Court web site.