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DENVER - An appeals court threw out a judge's order Thursday that barred a woman who left a lesbian relationship from teaching her adopted daughter anything that might be considered 'homophobic.'
The Colorado Court of Appeals sent the case back to the lower court to determine whether barring anti-homosexual religious instruction violates the woman's First Amendment rights.
The ruling came in a custody case that has drawn national attention from conservative groups and led to an unsuccessful attempt to impeach the judge who issued the order.
District Judge John W. Coughlin of Denver earlier granted joint custody of the 9-year-old girl to Elsey McLeod and Cheryl Clark. The women had raised the girl together until Clark converted to Christianity and left the relationship.
Clark's attorneys said Coughlin's 'homophobic' instruction, issued as part of the custody order, was so broad it could include everything from saying anything bad about homosexuals to teaching against homosexuality.
They contended it could even require Clark to black out parts of the Bible before her daughter reads it.
McLeod's lawyer, Gina Weitzenkorn, said Thursday she had no problem with having Coughlin review the 'homophobic' instruction. She said her client just wants to make sure that neither party is allowed to disparage the other, a common provision in custody cases.
Clark was backed by the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., a Christian legal group that challenged San Francisco's decision to allow gay marriage.
Some state legislators tried to impeach Coughlin, but the effort failed after lawmakers said he apparently ruled in the best interests of the girl in an unusual case.
The appeals court upheld the judge's decision to grant McLeod partial custody, even though the adoption papers list only Clark as the adoptive parent. The court said McLeod has become the child's 'psychological parent' and that ending or curtailing visitation would put the child at risk of 'emotional harm.'