Grandma in custody dispute won’t be prosecuted

Sandy Thompson

Wednesday, May 28, 1997 | 10:48 a.m.

The state attorney general's office has decided not to prosecute a grandmother who was arrested for violation of custody laws.

Judy Miller, 54, was arrested in Texas in late January and returned to Las Vegas because Nevada contended she did not have legal custody of her three grandchildren. Miller said her daughter, who is unable to care for the children because she's been in and out of mental hospitals, had signed over custody to her.

The state, however, does not recognize the paper as legal, and made the children, ages 9, 5 and 2, wards of the state because they have special needs.

A few days after an article appeared in the Las Vegas SUN in January about Miller's attempts to gain custody of a fourth grandchild, Miller was arrested on custody violation charges. She was brought back to Nevada and later released on $30,000 bond.

The children also were brought back to Nevada and placed with another relative.

On May 16, Miller appeared in Justice Court on the custody charges, prepared to ask for a jury trial because she believes she did nothing wrong. She said she simply wants to provide a stable home for her grandchildren.

At the hearing, however, the state said it will not pursue the charges, and Miller's $30,000 bond was dropped.

The case is set for a "status check" in six months and the charges will be dismissed once the issue of the children's welfare and custody is decided, according to Jan Cohen, a children's advocate and senior deputy attorney general.

"She (Miller) has no legal right to the children. Legally, they are wards of the state," Cohen said.

"Prosecuting her (Miller) would serve no one."

Cohen added that the purpose in arresting Miller was to get the children back "so their needs are met."

Diane Dixon, a public defender who was assigned to Miller's case, said the issue now goes back to Family Court, where Miller will have to fight for custody.

When asked why the charges were being dismissed, Dixon said, "I can't go into the reason."

When asked why not, she curtly told a reporter to "go get the court records."

When asked if the record would reflect the reason, Dixon replied, "I am not comfortable with talking to you."

Dixon apparently didn't communicate with her client, either, because Miller thought the charges were being dropped. She was unaware they wouldn't be dismissed for six months. She also was surprised at Dixon's testy response.

"I believe I was wronged. I believe I have custody," Miller said, explaining that she wanted a court hearing to prove her point.

While she wants to fight for custody of her grandchildren in Family Court, she says she can't afford an attorney.

She added that Child Protective Services has not allowed her to talk to her grandchildren since they were returned to Nevada more than four months ago.

Miller is also concerned because she believes the state is placing the children for adoption in June.