Unbelievable. I just read this elsewhere.  Each bit of news that comes out about this case is more ridiculous than the last.

I feel very sorry for this man and I hope he is soon able to take his child back to the United States. It just shows that Brazil is still a Banana Republic when it comes to issues of justice.
This is also what happens when you marry a Brazilian whore with no morals.

I cannot imagine that dead whore comes from any privileged upbringing. Why then would she have to swindle these two dim witted husbands into giving her a very materialistic lifestyle.
My heart breaks for that poor boy.

And this never-ending farce continues....

From the front page of Terra:

"O advogado Ricardo Zamariola, que representa o americano David Goldman na disputa pela guarda do menino Sean Goldman, 9 anos, disse nesta quinta-feira que lamenta a determinação do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) para que o garoto permaneça no Brasil até que seja ouvido por um juiz de primeiro grau sobre sua vontade. Segundo ele, a defesa vai recorrer da decisão. David Goldman chegou ao Brasil esta manhã.

"Lamento pela decisão", disse Zamariola ao Terra. "Além disso, eu pedi para ter uma conversa com o ministro Marco Aurélio antes de que ele tomasse uma decisão, mas a resposta que recebi era de que ele não poderia me atender".

Na tarde desta quinta-feira, o ministro Marco Aurélio concedeu uma liminar protocolada pela avó paterna do garoto para que o menino fique com a família de sua mãe, no Rio de Janeiro, onde está desde 2004. "Vamos analisar qual é a melhor forma, mas certamente vamos recorrer ao STF", disse o advogado.

O caso
O pai biológico de Sean, David Goldman, luta para ter a guarda do filho desde a morte de sua ex-companheira, a brasileira Bruna Bianchi Carneiro. A briga pela guarda comelou em 2004, quando Bruna deixou Goldman para uma suposta viagem de férias de duas semanas com o filho ao Brasil. Eles viviam na cidade de Titon Falls, Estado de New Jersey (EUA). Ao desembarcar no País, contudo, Bruna telefonou ao marido avisando que o casamento estava acabado e que não voltaria aos Estados Unidos.

A partir disso, foi travada uma batalha judicial pela guarda do garoto, na época com 4 anos. No Brasil, a Justiça reconheceu o divórcio pedido por Bruna sem a concordância de Goldman. Diante das leis americanas, contudo, eles permaneciam casados. Livre do compromisso com Goldman, Bruna se casou novamente com o advogado João Paulo Lins e Silva, mas no parto do segundo filho ela morreu.

Diante da ausência da mulher, David Goldman veio ao Brasil na tentativa de levar o filho de volta aos Estados Unidos. Desde então, ele briga pela guarda do garoto nos tribunais brasileiros, contra o padrasto de Sean e seus avós maternos."

By the time this case comes to an end the child will be in his twenties.  This just reflects how bad the justice system is here...

Edited by bobnbrazil2 - 17 December 2009 at 17:55

It was nice to see that the Federal Court upheld the ruling of the 1st instance court. Granted as soon as this latest ruling came out it was inevitable that the step-father would appeal it to the Supreme Court.

Now the basis of this new injunction is a tad bit on the strange side, considering the facts of the case. Sean hasn't been around his father in 5 years, he's grown up in a completely different culture, speaks a different language, goes to school, has friends, etc. Plus his current family, could possibly be filling his head with all sorts of slights against his father.

No court in the world recognizes the opinions of a child at this age, as to where they feel they would be better raised. Which is why the basis of this injunction is strange. Everyone knows what the kid is going to say. That aside, his mother still violated international law when she abducted Sean. So the child's opinion is moot when how he came to be in Brazil was the result of a crime.

What has never been made public to my knowledge, was her reasoning for doing what she did. If her husband was abusive, I can see what would prompt her to go to such extreme lengths to protect Sean. If abuse wasn't the reason, say she got homesick or perhaps she was tired of living in the US, then she should have gone about this in a better way. Shared custody or something along those lines.

David still has hope, if this latest turn of events goes the way I think it will, which is a ruling that Sean will remain in Brazil. He can then appeal to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We'll find out in February how this plays out.