Vasquez v. Colores

Appellee filed a petition to return his 22-month-old daughter to Mexico pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction (Convention), implemented by the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA), 42 U.S.C. 11601 et seq. Appellant, the estranged wife of appellee and mother of the child, opposed the petition. The district court subsequently entered an order granting the petition and appellant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying her motion for a continuance and in excluding the testimony of two witnesses. The court held that, given the underlying circumstances and the professed goal of expediency in Convention proceedings, the court agreed that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for continuance. The court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding testimony of the witnesses where the testimony would have been cumulative or not relevant. View "Vasquez v. Colores" on Justia Law