Oct 16, 2007 7:55 pm US/Eastern
2nd Part Of Cuba Custody Case On Hold
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MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The custody case of a young Cuban girl in Miami is on hold.
Testimony was expected to begin Tuesday in the 2nd phase of the proceedings that would determine whether the 5-year-old girl would be in any danger by returning to Cuba with her father Rafael Izquierdo. But the judge put the proceedings on hold as lawyers on all sides of the dispute argue over where the girl should live.
Izquierdo's attorneys want the judge to immediately grant him custody. Attorneys for the state want to overrule the judge's decision that Izquierdo is a fit parent and allow her to remain with her foster parents in Miami.
Ira Kurzban, biological father's attorney told
CBS4's Ileana Varela "It's not fair to my client, it's not fair to his daughter, it's not fair to his other daughter who has been here the whole time. They all come from Cuba and been here, now since May or June."
Monday Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen side stepped a legal challenge brought by attorneys for the girl's father, Rafael Izquierdo. They wanted Cohen to declare a state law unconstitutional that would allow Florida's Department of Children and Families to permanently strip Izquierdo of custody even though he was found to be a fit father. Cohen, who indicated that she did not see anything improper in the law, said she would rule on the motion at a later date.
Earlier this month, Cohen ordered that the girl should stay with her father during the week and only be returned to her foster parents on the weekend.
"Let the child ease into it. Otherwise you're talking about an abrupt breaking off and I don't want an abrupt break off," said Cohen.
The girl was placed in foster care after her mother attempted suicide days before Christmas, 2005. During the custody trial, the Florida Department of Children & Families has fought to have the child stay with her foster parents Joe and Maria Cubas, a wealthy Cuban-American couple. The Cubas family has already adopted the girl's half brother and has cared for the girl for more than 18 months.
CBS4's news partners at the
Miami Herald report the state plans to call a possible 25 witnesses to bolster their case that the girl should remain with her foster family. Izquierdo's attorneys announced they may call as many as 47 witnesses, but many of their witnesses are also on the state's list.
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