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An active duty marine is taking his child custody case to Kansas’s Supreme Court, hoping to gain custody of his two-year-old son, whom he lost while away serving the country.
Last year, Levi Bradley’s marriage to his wife Amber ended in divorce. While he was away, his wife gained custody of their young son, Tyler. Mr. Bradley hoped that by invoking the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), he would be able to keep his son.
The SCRA is a federal law that provides certain benefits and protections to those who serve active duty in the military. All civil proceedings, including divorce, are covered under the SCRA. To receive protection from this federal law, an individual must show that their active military duty had a ‘material effect’ on the legal issue at hand.
Mr. Bradley argues that the court awarded custody to his ex-wife while he was away on active duty. Had he been present, he argues, he would have had a fair chance of gaining custody of his son.
Despite this argument, a County judge ruled that the SCRA did not apply to Mr. Bradley’s child custody case. He is now taking his case to the state Supreme Court in hopes of having another shot at child custody.
Mr. Bradley wants to gain child custody and have his son live with his parents—Tyler’s grandparents—until he can return home from duty. His ex-wife is against this proposal, as would be expected.
Her attorney argues that parents have an important right to raise their own children without inference from an outside party. This right must be taken into account when considering the SRCA in this case, Amber’s attorneys contend.
The Kansas Supreme Court is expected to hear this child custody case in early June.