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custody cases. If visitation rights cannot be enforced quickly, | | they often cannot be enforced at all. This is particularly true if | | there is a limited time within which visitation can be exercised | | such as may be the case when one parent has been granted visitation | | during the winter or spring holiday period. Without speedy | | consideration and resolution of the enforcement of such visitation | | rights, the ability to visit may be lost entirely. Similarly, a | | custodial parent must be able to obtain prompt enforcement when the | | noncustodial parent refuses to return a child at the end of | | authorized visitation, particularly when a summer visitation | | extension will infringe on the school year. A swift enforcement | | mechanism is desirable for violations of both custody and | | visitation provisions. |
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| | | The scope of the enforcing court's inquiry is limited to the | | issue of whether the decree court had jurisdiction and complied | | with due process in rendering the original custody decree. No | | further inquiry is necessary because neither Article 2 [Me. cite | | subchapter II] nor the PKPA allows an enforcing court to modify a | | custody determination. |
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| | | Third, the enforcing court will be able to utilize an | | extraordinary remedy. If the enforcing court is concerned that | | the parent, who has physical custody of the child, will flee or | | harm the child, a warrant to take physical possession of the | | child is available. |
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| | | Finally, there is a role for public authorities, such as | | prosecutors, in the enforcement process. Their involvement will | | encourage the parties to abide by the terms of the custody | | determination. If the parties know that public authorities and | | law enforcement officers are available to help in securing | | compliance with custody determinations, the parties may be | | deterred from interfering with the exercise of rights established | | by court order. |
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| | | The involvement of public authorities will also prove more | | effective in remedying violations of custody determinations. | | Most parties do not have the resources to enforce a custody | | determination in another jurisdiction. The availability of the | | public authorities as an enforcement agency will help ensure that | | this remedy can be made available regardless of income level. In | | addition, the public authorities may have resources to draw on | | that are unavailable to the average litigant. |
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| | | This Act does not authorize the public authorities to be | | involved in the action leading up to the making of the custody | | determination, except when requested by the court, when there is | | a violation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of | | International Child Abduction, or when the person holding the |
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