State ex rel. Valles v. Brown
| Decision Date | 18 December 1981 |
| Docket Number | 13707,Nos. 13784,s. 13784 |
| Citation | 639 P.2d 1181,1981 NMSC 136,97 N.M. 327 |
| Parties | STATE of New Mexico, ex rel. Karen VALLES, Petitioner, v. Hon. John E. BROWN, District Judge, Children's Court Division, Second Judicial District, State of New Mexico, Respondent. Ronald Dean MILLER, Petitioner, v. Hon. Jack L. LOVE, Respondent. |
| Court | New Mexico Supreme Court |
Two alternative writ prohibition cases are before us, requesting our interpretation of the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980 (PKPA), 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A (Spec.Pamp.1981). The issues raised in these cases are not only similar but also are of great national and state importance, so we have consolidated them. In Miller v. Love, Mrs. Miller sought recognition of an Arizona child custody decree in New Mexico. The New Mexico court granted full faith and credit to the Arizona decree and subsequently Mr. Miller petitioned this Court for an alternative writ of prohibition which we granted. The second case, Valles v. Brown, concerned whether a New Mexico court may modify a Washington child custody decree. The New Mexico court held that it could, and thus Mrs. Valles petitioned this Court for an alternative writ of prohibition which we granted. We make permanent both alternative writs of prohibition.
We discuss:
1. Whether the effective date of the PKPA is December 28, 1980 or July 1, 1981.
2. Whether the Arizona child custody decree met the jurisdictional requirements of the PKPA and is therefore entitled to full faith and credit.
3. Whether a New Mexico court may modify a Washington child custody decree under the PKPA when the Washington court is willing and able to hear the petition.
Deborah Miller married Ronald Miller on June 15, 1974 in Arizona. Shortly after the date of their marriage, they moved to New Mexico. There are two children born of the marriage: one is now six years old; the other is now two years old.
As a result of family discord, Mrs. Miller moved back to Arizona with the two children. The children remained in Arizona from November 1, 1980 to December 25, 1980, the date Mr. Miller came and took the children back to New Mexico without her consent. The children presently live in New Mexico.
Mr. Miller filed for divorce and custody of the children in Bernalillo District Court on January 9, 1981. Mrs. Miller was not served with process. On February 27, 1981, Mrs. Miller filed for divorce and custody in Arizona. Mr. Miller was served with process, but he did not file an answer or make a special appearance. The Arizona court granted the divorce and awarded custody of the children to Mrs. Miller. The Arizona court further found that the children were "unlawfully removed" from Arizona and ordered their return to Mrs. Miller.
Armed with the Arizona decree, Mrs. Miller's counsel entered a "special appearance", contesting jurisdiction of the New Mexico trial court to act on the divorce and custody petition, requesting full faith and credit of the Arizona divorce and custody decree, and seeking enforcement of the Arizona decree. The New Mexico trial court granted full faith and credit to the Arizona decree and awarded the children to Mrs. Miller.
Karen and Carl Valles were divorced in 1979 in Washington. The Washington court awarded custody of Shawna Valles, now four years old, to Mrs. Valles and granted visitation rights to Mr. Valles. In 1979, Mr. Valles left Washington and moved to New Mexico. Mrs. Valles and Shawna continued to reside in Washington until August and then moved to New York so that she could attend beauty school. Mrs. Valles continued her domicile in Washington.
In January 1981, Mr. Valles called Mrs. Valles, asking if Shawna could come and visit him in New Mexico. She told Mr. Valles that Shawna was in Washington with her parents, and it was fine with her to take the child to New Mexico, which he did. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Valles petitioned the New Mexico court for a change in custody, alleging a substantial change of circumstances. The trial judge, relying on a provision in the Washington decree which stated that the court could modify the custody decree when Mrs. Valles could no longer care for Shawna, denied Mrs. Valles' motion to grant full faith and credit to the Washington decree.
A preliminary matter we must dispose of is whether the PKPA became effective December 28, 1980 (the enactment date) or July 1, 1981. Section 2 states: "The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on, and apply to services furnished on or after July 1, 1981." Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980, Pub.L.No.96-611, § 2, 94 Stat. 3566 (1980). It would seem, at first glance, that this provision is dispositive of the issue.
However, we think not for the following reasons: First, Sections 1 through 5, inclusive, and Section 11 of the "Act" have nothing to do with the substantive law of PKPA. They are technical amendments to the Social Security Act. 42 U.S.C. §§ 301 through 1397 (1976 and Supp. III 1979).
Secondly, the structure of the "Act" clearly indicates that the PKPA is separate and distinct. The short title of the PKPA appears at Section 6 of the "Act", and the short title is an indicator of the beginning part of legislation. See 1A Sands, Sutherland's Statutes and Statutory Construction §§ 20.02, 20.10 (4th rev. ed. 1972).
Thirdly, Section 10 of the "Act" requires the Attorney General of the United States to report to Congress 120 days after the enactment date of the PKPA on the steps taken to enforce it. To say that the PKPA became effective on July 1, 1981 is to ignore the Congressional requirements placed on the Attorney General. We will not give statutes a literal interpretation which would lead to absurd results, State v. Nance, 77 N.M. 39, 419 P.2d 242 (1966), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 1039, 87 S.Ct. 1495, 18 L.Ed.2d 605 (1967), when the statute "can be given a reasonable application consistent with their words and legislative purpose." Haggar Co. v. Helvering, 308 U.S. 389, 394, 60 S.Ct. 337, 339, 84 L.Ed. 340 (1940).
Therefore, we reject the July 1, 1981 date as when the statute became effective. Since the PKPA does not have an express effective date, the enactment date becomes the effective date. Robertson v. Bradbury, 132 U.S. 491, 10 S.Ct. 158, 33 L.Ed. 405 (1889); United States v. Commonwealth Auto Sales, Inc., 463 F.Supp. 12 (M.D.Pa.1978); see Lapeyre v. United States, 84 U.S. (17 Wall.) 191, 21 L.Ed. 606 (1872).
We note that the New Mexico Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, §§ 40-10-1 through 40-10-24, N.M.S.A.1978 (Cum.Supp.1981), does not apply to the two cases before us. It became effective on July 1, 1981. 1981 N.M.Laws ch. 119 § 26. The cases arose before July 1, 1981.
The underlying policy behind the PKPA is to deter, if not prevent, "child snatching". Senator Mathias said:
The problem of child snatching is greater today than ever before. More than 10 million children under the age of 18 live in families headed by a single parent. Although accurate figures are not available, it is estimated that between 25,000 and 100,000 children are victims of interstate child snatchings each year.
Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1979, S. 105: Joint Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Criminal Justice of the Comm. on Child and Human Development of the Comm. on Labor and Human Resources, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. 1 (1980). "Child-snatching" is expensive. A parent may spend $10,000 to $15,000 per year on detective and legal fees in an attempt to locate the kidnapped child. Id. at 79. Sadly to say, most of these parents will not find their children. Id.
In addition to and more important than the expense is the psychological damage to the child. A child psychologist, who testified before the Senate Subcommittee, said that these snatched children suffer psychological damage which is often severe and sometimes irreversible and irreparable. Id. at 116.
The PKPA is intended to eliminate this harm by requiring states to give full faith and credit to custody decrees. See generally S. Katz, Child Snatching: A Legal Response to Abduction of Children 15, 122 (1981).
According to the PKPA, a New Mexico court may only modify a child custody decree issued in another state when:
1. New Mexico has jurisdiction under its own law, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(c)(1) (Spec.Pamp.1981), and under the PKPA, 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1738A(c)(2)(A) through 1738A(c)(2)(E) (Spec.Pamp.1981); 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(f)(1) (Spec.Pamp.1981) and
2. The state which issued the child custody decree no longer has jurisdiction under the PKPA and its own law, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(c) (Spec.Pamp.1981), or has declined to exercise jurisdiction to modify the decree. 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(f) (2) (Spec.Pamp.1981).
Thus, the long line of New Mexico cases which permits a New Mexico court to modify an out-of-state issued child custody decree based solely on the physical presence of the child and a substantial change of circumstances is pre-empted by the PKPA. U.S.Const. art. 6, cl. 2; See Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1, 6 L.Ed. 23 (1824).
In order for New Mexico to modify the Arizona decree, New Mexico must have jurisdiction under its own law, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(c)(1) (Spec.Pamp.1981) and under the PKPA, 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1738A(c)(2)(A) through 1738A(c)(2)(E) (Spec.Pamp.1981). In addition, Arizona must no longer have jurisdiction under its own law and under the PKPA, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(c) (Spec.Pamp.1981), or has declined to exercise jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A(f)(2)...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Clausen, In re
...the original court would have had jurisdiction over requests for enforcement, modification, etc.For example, in State ex rel. Valles v. Brown, 97 N.M. 327, 639 P.2d 1181 (1981), a divorce judgment, including a custody order, was entered in Washington. No further proceedings had taken place ......
-
Thompson v. Thompson
...v. Salisbury, 657 S.W.2d 761, 766 (Tenn.App.1983); Belosky v. Belosky, 97 N.M. 365, 640 P.2d 471, 472 (1982); State ex rel. Valles v. Brown, 97 N.M. 327, 639 P.2d 1181, 1183 (1981); In re Custody of Ross, 291 Or. 263, 630 P.2d 353, 362 n. 20 (1981). But cf. Kumar v. County Superior Court, 3......
-
Brackeen v. Haaland
...state had waived immunity from state law breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud claims); State ex rel. Valles v. Brown , 97 N.M. 327, 639 P.2d 1181, 1186 (1981) (applying Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act to determine whether the state court could modify a child custody de......
-
Sams v. Boston, 18539
...concisely, "[t]he underlying policy behind the PKPA is to deter, if not prevent, 'child snatching[.]' " State ex rel. Valles v. Brown, 97 N.M. 327, 329, 639 P.2d 1181, 1183 (1981). The policy underlying the UCCJ Act of 1968 is the Physical presence of the child [traditionally] opens the doo......