Elizabeth Morgan Act

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The Elizabeth Morgan Act was an act of Congress, as a rider, on behalf of Elizabeth Morgan. This was a second act of Congress in which Morgan's case was mentioned during the deliberations. The first had been a modification of local D.C. law. The act allowed Morgan and her daughter, Ellen, to return to the United States without having to share custody of Ellen with the girl's father, Dr. Eric A. Foretich. The act was overturned in 2003 only after Ellen had reached adulthood as a rare bill of attainder.

1 Road through Congress
2 Unconstitutionality
3 Congressional Record and Court case
4 Press coverage

[edit] Road through Congress

Having previously passed the District of Columbia Civil Contempt Imprisonment Limitation Act, Congress was persuaded to pass yet another law on Dr. Morgan's behalf.

By 1995, Morgan, who had fled to New Zealand with Ellen and other relatives, had developed cancer. Ellen, then 13, indicated to Rep. Thomas M. Davis that she wanted to return to the U.S. In September 1996, Davis sponsored the Elizabeth Morgan Act as a rider on a major transportation bill. While this new legislation was worded to focus on Ellen's needs, it effectively shielded Morgan from all of the judicial custody orders that were still in force, and the Morgans returned to the U.S in 1997.

[edit] Unconstitutionality

Foretich claimed that the damage to his reputation from the Act reduced his professional practice in the D.C. area and made it difficult for him to find comparable work anywhere else in the nation. He dropped all further attempts to gain visitation and focused on the undoing of the Act. On December 16, 2003, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit ruled that the Elizabeth Morgan Act was unconstitutional, as it was a rare bill of attainder, but the decision was moot as Ellen was no longer a minor. In finding that it was a bill of attainder, the Court's logic was that the Bill was not about the Morgans but about Dr. Foretich and that it penalized him. Precedent had established that only bills which penalize a party can be found to be a bill of attainder.

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who represented the Foretich family, said the government will have to pay for legal fees in the case—about $1 million. He added, "I would hope this would be the final chapter, but such hopes have been dashed many times in the case." He also said in a USA Today editorial in March 2005): "The bill negated 10 years of orders in the husband's favor and effectively labeled him a danger to his daughter."

Comparisons regarding congressional intervention in the judicial system can be drawn between the Elizabeth Morgan Act and the Palm Sunday Compromise of the 2005 Terri Schiavo conflict.