Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Parents Sent Back to Tribal Court in Grandparents’ Visitation Case

A Washington mother who wants to prevent grandparent visitation on the Quinault reservation was sent back to tribal court after seeking an injunction in federal district court.

The U.S. District Court in Tacoma ruled that the woman and her husband, who is the child’s adopted father, must exhaust all their remedies in tribal court before seeking relief in federal district court.

The child’s natural father, Jordan Mail, was a member of the Quinault Nation. He and the mother, Shila Eaton, never married. Mail died in a car accident. Eaton married and her husband adopted the child. Jordan Mail’s parents, sought visitation rights in the Quinault Court. The tribal court ruled that the grandparents were allowed to take the child from his mother’s custody every Saturday, without restrictions, for an unspecified duration of time.

The Eatons appealed the decision in federal court. The case is Shila and Jake Eaton v. Michael and Francine Mail (Case No. C08-5538FDB).

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