Elizabeth Morgan Act
Encyclopedia
The Elizabeth Morgan Act refers to an act
of the United States Congress
, , which was passed as part of .
Hilary Antonia Foretich (b. 1982), later known as Ellen Morgan, was at the center of a well-publicized international custody case in the late 1980s. Hilary’s maternal grandparents took her to New Zealand
, defying a court order that Hilary have unsupervised visitation with her father, Dr. Eric Foretich. Her mother, plastic surgeon
Elizabeth Morgan, spent 25 months in detention from 1987 to 1989 for contempt of court
in Washington, D.C.
, for refusing to reveal Hilary’s whereabouts.
Elizabeth Morgan had alleged that Foretich had sexually abused
their daughter, an accusation that he has vehemently denied and which has never been proved in court.
Dr. Morgan is Foretich’s third wife. His second wife has also accused him of sexual abuse of their daughter, Heather, (b. 1980). Foretich denies those charges, and has repeatedly said the two women have acted in collusion.
Elizabeth Morgan was freed in 1989 by an Act of Congress and joined her daughter and parents in New Zealand
. The U.S. Congress passed the Elizabeth Morgan Act in 1996, which permitted Hilary, who by then called herself Ellen Morgan, to decide whether or not to see her father. The 14-year-old returned with her mother to the United States, but declined to see her father. Eric Foretich sued in 1997. The law was overturned as a bill of attainder
by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2003, but had no practical effect on Hilary, who was by then 21 and could choose for herself whether or not to see her father. Hilary Foretich, aka Ellen Morgan, is now known as Elena Mitrano.
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, , which was passed as part of .
Hilary Antonia Foretich (b. 1982), later known as Ellen Morgan, was at the center of a well-publicized international custody case in the late 1980s. Hilary’s maternal grandparents took her to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, defying a court order that Hilary have unsupervised visitation with her father, Dr. Eric Foretich. Her mother, plastic surgeon
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
Elizabeth Morgan, spent 25 months in detention from 1987 to 1989 for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, for refusing to reveal Hilary’s whereabouts.
Elizabeth Morgan had alleged that Foretich had sexually abused
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
their daughter, an accusation that he has vehemently denied and which has never been proved in court.
Dr. Morgan is Foretich’s third wife. His second wife has also accused him of sexual abuse of their daughter, Heather, (b. 1980). Foretich denies those charges, and has repeatedly said the two women have acted in collusion.
Elizabeth Morgan was freed in 1989 by an Act of Congress and joined her daughter and parents in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The U.S. Congress passed the Elizabeth Morgan Act in 1996, which permitted Hilary, who by then called herself Ellen Morgan, to decide whether or not to see her father. The 14-year-old returned with her mother to the United States, but declined to see her father. Eric Foretich sued in 1997. The law was overturned as a bill of attainder
Bill of attainder
A bill of attainder is an act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a judicial trial.-English law:...
by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2003, but had no practical effect on Hilary, who was by then 21 and could choose for herself whether or not to see her father. Hilary Foretich, aka Ellen Morgan, is now known as Elena Mitrano.
TV movie
A TV movie, A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story, was made regarding the matter.Sources
- Hilary's Trial: The Elizabeth Morgan Case, A Child's Ordeal in America's Legal System. by Jonathan Groner. New York: American Lawyer Books and Simon & Schuster, 1991. Reviewed in 116 Library Journal, page 89 (May 1, 1991), and by 23 University of West Los Angeles Law Review, pp. 373–8 (1992) and by 8 International Journal of Law & the Family 342-4 (Aug 1992).
External links
- A Hard Case of Contempt: Elizabeth Morgan: Mother Courage or a paranoid liar? TIME, Inc. 09/18/89
- Judge Had Conflict, His Critics Say
- A Question of Contempt: The cases of two jailed mothers put the issue of civil contempt reform in the spotlight. National Law Journal 10/30/89
- Morgan - Foretich Fight Ends — for Now; Mother Wins in New Zealand, but Is Said to Desire Return to U.S. Washington Post 12/01/90
- ARCH
- Antonia Morgan; Fled U.S. With Granddaughter 1915 - 2006
- Deadly Triangle Online Washingtonian, 2002-06-01
- Google Knol
- Family Law Armageddon: The Story of Morgan v. Foretich June Carbone, Leslie J. Harris 2007