Columnist Sandra Thompson: Best interests of child finally given due priority

Sandra Thompson

Sunday, Sept. 26, 1999 | 9:30 a.m.

Sandra Thompson is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4025 or through e-mail at thompson@lasvegassun.com.

TODAY THE CHILD is the winner.

That was the conclusion of Family Court Judge Robert Lueck when he awarded permanent guardianship of an 11-year-old girl to an Iraqi-American couple who are the only parents she has ever known.

The 33-page decision issued Sept. 16 ended a three-year saga of uncertainty, emotional upheaval and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Lueck was the fourth judge to preside over the controversial case, but was the first to make a final ruling and the only one to stress "the best interests of the child."

"For three years they forget (my daughter)," Talia Zeer says. "For the first time the judge mentions her. I started crying. I said, 'Is this for real? Are we in a different world than Family Court?' "

Talia and her husband, Sam, had been caring for the girl since her biological mother brought her to the United States from Iraq nine years ago. The Zeers say the mother gave the girl to them to raise as their own. The biological parents, Raja and Hikmet Jamil, dispute that, but had little or no contact with the girl throughout the years.

The Zeers were granted guardianship in 1997. The Jamils filed a petition to terminate guardianship. The Zeers filed for adoption of the child and later to have the biological parents' rights terminated, which resulted in three different cases before Family Court.

That's one of the reasons the case languished in Family Court for three years.

"This sordid litigation shows why the Family Court needs a 'one family, one judge' policy," Lueck noted in his decision. "That policy has been adopted and will be officially implemented in the near future.

"If that policy had been in effect at the time these cases started, the single presiding judge could have heard everything and possibly could have concluded the entire litigation in one year or less. Instead, these cases have been handled by four judges ... ."

Lueck cut to the chase by stressing the best interests of the child and refusing to allow the court to be used as a forum for the Zeers and Jamils to "vent their dislikes and animosities toward each other."

"The conclusions in this case were very simple to reach," Lueck said in his decision.

So why did it take three years and four judges?

Judge Dianne Steel presided over the initial termination case. After a lengthy trial, she found there was no reason to terminate the biological parents' rights. She later recused herself, sending the case back into the Family Court maze.

Judge Steve Jones then ordered that the guardianship case should be heard concurrently with the termination case, and it was reassigned to Judge Bob Gaston. Gaston denied the Zeers' motion to consolidate the cases, but maintained jurisdiction over all three.

In the meantime Gaston ordered that the Jamils could have unsupervised visitation with the child. He also appointed a guardian ad litem and psychologist to help the child.

The visits were traumatic for the child. The Jamils were strangers to her; she only was told last year they were her biological parents.

The guardian ad litem and psychologist said it was not in her best interests to be taken from her home. Her sense of security and trust had been destroyed. Instead of introducing the biological parents gradually, the judge hoped the child would establish an immediate bond.

Another trial was set for last December but was delayed. Gaston then took over as Juvenile Court judge and the case was randomly reassigned.

By this time the Zeers were emotionally spent. The girl was a bundle of nerves.

When Lueck received the case, he did not find it as complicated as the previous judges. He told both sides to prepare for trial, but instead issued a summary judgment to finally settle the case.

Lueck cited a variety of case law to back up his decision to award the Zeers permanent guardianship. He determined there was no need for a trial where "several hours of scarce judicial time would be spent having these witnesses repeat the contents of their reports and say the same things."

He said the facts are very clear:

In essence, Lueck did not focus on the adults' dispute, but ruled in favor of the child.

The girl no longer faces each day with fear.

"Her attitude has changed overnight," Talia says. "She laughs. She's happy."

She's home.