A Context and Practice Global Case File: Thorpe v. Lightfoot, A Mother's International Hague Petition for the Return of Her Child

In Thorpe v. Lightfoot, Micaela Thorpe appeals the District Court's denial of her petition to have her young son returned to Trinidad after he was abducted to the US by his father, Antoine Lightfoot, in violation of the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions. This appeal raises three issues of public international law and international family law, specifically: Does a US court have jurisdiction over an anticipatory breach, given the conflicting international law on this issue? Would it pose a "grave risk of harm" to return a child suffering from PTSD to the place where his PTSD-triggering injuries occurred? Is an 8-year-old child "sufficiently mature" for a court to consider his objections when repatriating him against his will?

This case file is intended for two audiences. First, it is intended for professors of international or family law, allowing them to assign any or all of the documents in the file as practice materials to supplement students' training in the substantive law. In addition, this case file is intended as the lawsuit at the heart of an advanced advocacy course or moot court competition. In either situation, professors can assign any of the assignments alone or together. The case file and its Student Manual guide students through creating a bench memo and a federal appellate brief, mediating the appeal, and writing the final judicial opinion. The Teacher's Manual provides a full set of rubrics, samples and a thorough bench memo to teach each of these components.

This book is part of the Context and Practice Series, edited by Michael Hunter Schwartz, Professor of Law and Dean of the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific.