The 3-2 decision reverses a 2002 ruling by Judge John Wesley in Bennington that gave custody of a son born to a Bennington couple to the father and ruled that a Canadian court was right to give the mother custody of the child.
The mother in 2003 obtained her own child custody order in Canada, where she had fled after claiming her ex-husband had abused her and threatened to harm her and their son. She was convicted in federal court last year of kidnapping her son.
"This is one of those rare cases where the best interests of the child must take precedence over the policy goal of deterring parental wrongdoing," Justice Marilyn Skoglund, writing for the high court's majority, said in the decision. "Canada was the more appropriate forum to resolve this matter."
In a stinging dissent, Justice Brian Burgess said the majority's ruling sends the wrong message to parents unhappy with court custody decisions.
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