Brazil Judge Hands Goldman Custody Win

(CBS/AP)  Updated at 6:57 p.m. EST

Brazil's chief justice on Tuesday ruled in favor of a U.S. man who has pursued a five-year court battle to gain custody of his son.

According to the court's Web site, Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes ruled David Goldman's 9-year-old son must be delivered to him by the boy's Brazilian relatives, as a federal court ordered last week. A time frame for the handover was not clear.

The ruling put Goldman one step closer to finally being reunited with his son, Sean. The boy was taken by Goldman's now-deceased ex-wife to her native Brazil in 2004, where he has remained. Goldman has been fighting to get him back from the boy's stepfather.

Lawyers on both sides have said there was still a chance for the Brazilian family to appeal to Brazil's highest appeals court, though the chances of success seemed slight.

A member of Goldman's team reached just minutes after the ruling described the father as happy, but said he had seen earlier rulings ordering Sean's return be blocked and was waiting to see if the latest ruling would stick or be enforced.

Goldman, who lives in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, declined to comment until he learned more details.

For days the Goldman camp has expressed worries the Brazilian family might try to flee or hide Sean.

Calls to the Brazilian family's lawyer were not immediately returned.

Silvana Bianchi, Sean's Brazilian grandmother sent a written appeal to the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, saying it was "inhumane" to remove the boy from the country.

"Our upbringing stresses the role of the mother. In the absence of the mother, upbringing should be done by the grandmother. That is how it is in all of Brazil, from north to south, independent of race, creed, religion or social class. It is natural that foreigners, who were brought up differently do not understand these genuinely Brazilian values," the letter, translated from Portuguese to English, read.

Both the U.S. and Brazilian governments argued that the case clearly fell under the Hague Convention, which seeks to ensure that custody decisions are made by the courts in the country where a child originally lived — in this case, the United States.

A lawyer specializing in the Hague Convention said Tuesday's decision by Mendes was the only right one to make.

"It would be virtually impossible to reconcile international law with a ruling in favor of the Brazilian family," said Greg Lewen of the Miami-based law firm Fowler White Burnett.

He said that if the Hague Convention were not followed by the chief justice, "the State Department should immediately issue a travel advisory warning parents not to go to Brazil with their children."

Goldman launched his case in U.S. and Brazilian courts after Sean was brought by his mother in 2004 to her home country, where she then divorced Goldman and remarried. She died last year in childbirth, and the boy has lived with his stepfather since.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Goldman said he would allow Sean's Brazilian relatives to visit with his son if he won the case. "I will not do to them what they've done to Sean and me," he said.

The case has affected diplomatic ties between Brazil and the U.S., and has been discussed by President Barack Obama and his Brazilian counterpart. Last week, a U.S. senator reacted to the case by blocking renewal of a $2.75 billion trade deal that would lift U.S. tariffs on some Brazilian goods.

The U.S. State Department pressed for the boy to be returned. But a Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Thursday stayed the lower court decision ordering Sean to be turned over to his father.

Goldman and Brazil's attorney general both filed appeals Friday asking the Supreme Court to overturn the justice's decision to block Sean's return while the court considers hearing direct testimony from the boy. On Tuesday, Mendes ruled the order no longer valid.

The Brazilian family's lawyer, Sergio Tostes, had told the AP that he would like to see a negotiated settlement, saying he wanted to end the damage being done to Sean and to U.S.-Brazil relations.

"We're raising the white flag and saying: 'Let's get together, let's talk. We're the adults, we have responsibilities, so let's start to have a constructive conversation,"' Tostes said.

Goldman, however, was in never in a mood to negotiate.

"This isn't about a shared custody — I'm his dad, I'm his only parent," Goldman said. "This isn't a custody case — it's an abduction case."

[Heartlight]

David, we are praying for you and Sean to be reunited in forever in the States! You are not alone!

[dblbar1]

I too, am leary that the Brazilian family may do something stupid, like take off with the boy, so not counting the chickens until the boy is on US soil. Yes, charges should be brought against this family.

Mr. Goldman, still praying for you.....

[tmittelstaed]

What is sad here is that Brazil is the only country that Sean really knows now, he probably has friends there, speaks the language and is probably doing fine in school, and when he comes to the US it's going to take at least another 5 years for him to integrate into the US. And he will have to do this during a really difficult part of a boy's life. While the rest of his grade is out there going through puberty, learning about girls, and beginning to figure themselves out, he's going to be stuck with the kids of the illegal immigrant's children in the English as Second Language classes, and he will probably be lucky to graduate with a high school diploma.

The sad fact of the matter is that the Brazilian family has "won" because either way that David plays it now, they have screwed him out of a decent childhood with his son. If David were to move to Brazil in order to make things the least disruptive for his son, then Sean is going to end up Brazilian, he's almost certainly never going to want to move back to the US, and will end up being an expatraite for the rest of his life, and will be throughly integrated into the Brazilian culture. If David manages to get him back, then by the time that Sean manages to work through all of the issues this will create for him, Sean's childhood will be over.

[cigar-smoker]

I hope that the Brazilian family members will be charged with kidnapping by the US. What they are doing to this boy and his father is criminal and should be handled as such.

[youhaveachoice]

My father took my three siblings and I away from my mother to come here to America over 30 years ago. My mother was in the Philippines at the time. I don't know if I will know the entire truth of why my father alienated us from my mom, but the manner in which he did it was not healthy for us. My heart goes out to Mr. Goldman and his son. I hope they will be together soon and can heal from this horrific trauma.

[rwsmith29456]

I agree that a grandmother would be a great choice for a surrogate mother for a child whose mother had died. BUT NOT IF THE FATHER WANTS TO HAVE CUSTODY AND RAISE HIM. It's a sad case and a hard choice but I couldn't afford to fly to South America often enough to visit my son.

[ffoulkes-2009]

This may be a first. 30 comments on a CBS board with everyone unanimously in agreement! This is great!

[linfinster]

I doubt that the boys maternal family have taken steps to adequately prepare this child for a transition that appears to be happening in slow motion. But his fathers lawyer should be demanding immediate turnover at the next hearing and take him quickly to a plane when the verdict is read.

[Franco107]

I?ve gone through this trauma personally. I gained custody of my daughter under similar circumstances. The child will be suffering from nightmares, trauma, and the effects of parental alienation. He will also be torn and miss his captors (family) in Brazil; but he will be angry at his Brazilian family as he slowly wakes to the reality of the situation and realizes his father is a legitimate decent person.

It is very possible that Sean will never establish a normal relationship with his biological father because PAS (Parental Alienation Syndrome). David is in for a long road. Both David and Sean will need psychological help cope with the ordeal of both being victims of crime.

I personally would like to see this incident pursued further by Brazil and prosecute the De Silva family for aiding and abetting corruption in the courts. Everyone should be awakening to the fact that Brazil?s judicial system is a farce. If you are doing business in Brazil make sure you use letters of credit and you take steps to protect yourselves. Ultimately, if you are a foreigner forget the judicial system for any method of remedy.

David is getting Sean because of support from his congressmen and his state senator and the imposition of actual sanctions. And, I will add that I have newfound respect for Congressman Smith and Senator Frank Lautenberg. I could care less if Sanctions against Brazil remain in force. Returning Sean does not mend the fences here. There are many cases just like David Goldman?s where the same nonsense is continuing.

[wahoosam2]

I nominate the grandmother for ***** of the Year.