New Jersey resident David Goldman has been fighting for custody of his son, Sean Goldman, since his then-wife took the boy to her native Brazil on vacation and never came back. Goldman has called it a case of child abduction. Today, a Brazilian court ruled on the U.S. boy custody case.
A Brazilian Federal Regional Tribunal heard arguments today on whether or not to return the 9-year-old boy to his father in New Jersey. The court ruled 3-0 that the boy should be returned to his father in New Jersey. The order requires that the boy is delivered to the U.S. Consulate in Rio within the next 48-hours. The court ruled in compliance with the rules set up by the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.
The ruling has been a long time coming. In 2004, Goldman’s wife, Bruna Bianchi, took their 4-year-old son, Sean, to vacation in Brazil, but she never returned to the United States. Instead of a two-week vacation, she stayed in Brazil and the situation turned into an international custody battle. Goldman and Bianchi divorced and she remarried, staying in Brazil. She died last year in childbirth, but her widower’s family continued the custody battle, attempting to keep Sean with them in Brazil.
Goldman called it nothing short of a case of international child abduction. He has been fighting for custody of his son for the past five years. His former wife initially retained custody, but he renewed his efforts after her death. In June, the supreme court ruled that the case should be heard in the federal court in Rio de Janeiro.
The Brazilian Supreme Court could still stall the transfer of custody. The Brazilian family has filed a motion for habeas corpus appealing the decision the federal court made today. Their argument is that it will be traumatic for the boy to be taken from the only family he’s known for most of his life. If the supreme court acts on the appeal, the transfer of the boy will be delayed until the appeal is heard.
There has been some tension in the Brazil-U.S. relationship over this case after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put pressure on the Brazilian government to intervene to have the boy sent back to the United States and his father’s custody. In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution this year asking Brazil to see to Sean’s return. The Brazilian family’s attorneys cited these incidents as the U.S. putting undue pressure on the Brazilian government to get involved in a child custody case.
Meanwhile, David Goldman is preparing to go to Rio de Janeiro and pick up Sean Goldman from the U.S. Consulate there. He is being cautious, however, because of past experiences. They have been down this road before. So far, Sean’s step-father and his family have filed 40 appeals in their attempts to keep the boy in Brazil. It could happen again. Still, Goldman thanked God and the judges for the Brazilian courts ruling on the U.S. boy custody case.
Brazilian Court Rules on U.S. Boy Custody Case – Video
December 16th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Since when an american citizen has more rights arround the world than a Brazilian one? Here in america fathers are not respected by the system when it comes to child custody. Case in point is my own case where partiallity takes place because of female judges and mediations personell are women. THe senators should look into los angeles california and help me to have custody of my kids indeed, but they will not apply the rules of decency here in america but they want decency arround the world except here in the united states….Start here because teh system is biased and partial. Brazi shoud have put a point blank website alledging all the cases where abused here in america takes place when handling divorces and custody.
December 18th, 2009 at 8:05 am
To learn how you can help Sean Goldman finally return home, visit http://www.bringseanhome.org/help.html and contact Brazilian and US representatives today to ask for their urgent assistance.
December 18th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Today someone posted a comment on my Blog Updates in Michigan Family Law as "Thinklogically": He/she (A/K/A "Anonymous") said that Sean's kidnapping was not an "abduction". "Thinklogically" stated the facts incorrectly. "Thinklogically" slanted the "factoids" to the point of view of the current kidnapper, Lins e Silva, Sean's Brazilian stepfather. Next, "Thinklogically" opined that it could not possibly be in a child's best interest to go live in a country he doesn't remember, with a father he's seen twice, (oh, forget those early years when he lived with his father and mother in New Jersey), and leave his home, his sister, and the only family he knows? "Thinklogically" said, "People so often forget the perspective of the child while fighting so hard to establish an adult person's "rights" to that child."Well, OK. Those who want a child . . . those unable to have a child . . . under the logic of "Thinklogically", can just go down to the local supermarket, pluck an infant out of a shopping cart, hide the infant for years and then . . . then when the biological parent shows up to recover the child, say: "Oh too bad, so sad, the child doesn't know you and has spent so many years in the care of us (the kidnappers) . . . and we've been brainwashing the child to say he/she wants to stay here with us . . . and, well, the (young) child should be allowed to tell the court where he/she wants to stay." Or, "it would be too harmful for this child to be returned because we're (I'm) the only parent he knows."Of course, Thinklogically" makes no mention of the fact that David Goldman has been seeking the child since the kidnapping, has taken all of the proper legal steps, has been forced to spend more money than most people could possibly commit . . . simply to recover that child who has so wrongfully been removed from him.December 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
This case has been a tragedy. The bottom line is where the mother is deceased and there is not reason a child should not be raised by its biological father, the child shall be returned to the care of the father. Brazil has abused power, interfered with the rights of a birth parent, violated the Hague agreement, allowed the stepfather, his extended family, the maternal grandmother and her extended family to brainwash this precious child again his American family. This is wrong. Brazil, as a country, has no morals, is less than law-abiding, has obstructed the legal return of this child to the birth father that loves him just as much as the deceased mother did. The child is too young to decide where to stay and it is more of a concern because the Brazilian family has spoken negatively against the birth father. I am disappointed in the people of Brazil that feel a child should be left with a stepfather that has no legal rights. Where is your concern for the family? My respect for the people of Brazil is gone, my respect for the courts of Brazil is negative, my respect for Brazil is gone. I hope when this is resolved and Sean is home in New Jersey that he can heal and understand the love his father has for him, has always had. I would never allow Sean to travel back to Brazil until he is a young man. If the Brazilian family wants to see Sean, put them through the travel and expense of coming to the United States. I would NEVER trust anything Brazilian again. The stepfather, an attorney, is as unethical as they come. His father, likewise. In most bar associations in the United States both could easily lose their license to practice law. Their money would not buy a child here. I hope the United States penalizes Brazil in trading and commerce. May the holiday season bring father and son home together to celebrate. Peace.
December 24th, 2009 at 10:13 am
[...] David Goldman, Sean Goldman: Brazilian Court Rules on U.S. Boy Custody Case » Right Juris US Dad Wins Custody Battle in Brazil Court – David Goldman heads to Rio, but Supreme Court battle looms �ltima hora: Sean Goldman retorna para os Estados Unidos com o pai David Goldman�ltima hora: Sean Goldman retorna para os Estados Unidos com o pai David Goldman – A not�cia dada �s 13h35 (hor�rio do Brasil) teria sido confirmada por um dos advogados de Silvana Bianchi. [...]