Difference between revisions 31025136 and 31117663 on enwiki

'''Jean Elizabeth Morgan''', M.D., Ph.D. (born [[1947]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[USA]]) is a [[plastic surgeon]] who was involved in a widely publicized and long-running [[child custody]] case over her daughter Hilary.  She claimed that the father, Dr. Eric A. Foretich, an oral surgeon, had sexually abused Hilary.  During the course of the case, she was incarcerated for two years, and following her release from prison she went into hiding overseas; the [[Congress of the Unite(contracted; show full)

For the next two years, Morgan's incarceration received a great deal of publicity. In much of it she was portrayed as a model prisoner, and a woman of fortitude. She also convinced many famous and influential people, including [[Charles Colson|Chuck Colson]] that abuse had indeed occurred.

=== Congressional action and flight ===

Rep. [[Frank Rudolph Wolf]] sponsored, and the U.S. Congress passed, the District of Columbia Civil Contempt Imprisonment Limitation Act of 1989, a bill that limited to twelve months the time that a person can be jailed on civil contempt charges in custody cases in Washington, D.C. (which has limited [[District of Columbia home rule|home rule]]).

As example of those supporting Morgan was Prof. Doug Rendleman of [[Washington and Lee University]] School of Law, who said that although Congress had engaged in "legislative adjudication," it was proper for Congress to get involved in the Morgan case, because the [[Separation of powers|checks and balances]] within the judicial system had, in essence, failed. On the other hand, he was disappointed by the lack of preparation before the deliberative process commenced, and the narrowness of the resulting law⏎
: ''See main article at [[District of Columbia Civil Contempt Imprisonment Limitation Act]]

This Act allowed Morgan to leave prison.

On [[September 25]], [[1989]], Morgan was released from prison; she then retrieved her passport from the D.C. Superior Court, and went into hiding. It turned out that Morgan, her parents, and Hilary had fled the country, and were in [[New Zealand]], where they were located in February [[1990]] by a [[private investigator]] hired by Foretich. New Zealand chose to maintain the [[status quo]]. At around this time, Hilary's name was changed to Ellen.

=== The Elizabeth Morgan Act ===

(contracted; show full)
*[http://members.aol.com/underwatch/ug_themembers.html The Children Of the Underground Watch(tm): Leaders] which reads: "Alliance for Rights of Children (ARCH) use to be called The Friends of Elizabeth Morgan. They are alleged to help parents go Underground."

* http://web.archive.org/web/20010419230630/www.springfield.va.us/organizations/arch.html


[[Category:1947 births|Morgan, Elizabeth]]
[[Category:American surgeons|Morgan, Elizabeth]]
[[Category:Family law]]