The Massachusetts Appeals Court has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to consider whether a Juvenile Court judge violated the state Constitution by finding two members of an Attleboro religious sect in contempt of court for refusing to surrender their newborn to state authorities.
The baby, which sect members David P. and Rebecca A. Corneau have refused to confirm exists, is the subject of a care-and-protection proceeding in which the state Department of Social Services is seeking at least temporary custody of the child. Under state law, all children in such proceedings must be presented to the court.
The Corneaus cited freedom of religion and the right to privacy in refusing to cooperate with the court. They also invoked rights enumerated in the state and federal Constitutions against being forced to implicate themselves in crimes. Legal arguments before Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth P. Nasif centered on the state Constitution's protection against self-incrimination, which is broader than the federal protection.
The Corneaus' lawyer argued that presenting the baby, if one exists, to the court, could incriminate the Corneaus, without explaining how.
Nasif ruled that presenting the baby to the court would not incriminate the parents and ordered the couple jailed for two weeks. Nasif postponed enforcement of that order until Wednesday to give the Corneaus time to appeal.
The case has been assigned to Justice Janis M. Berry of the Appeals Court. The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday in Boston. Legal observers predicted Berry would take little action other than to further postpone the Corneaus' incarceration while she decides the appeal.
J.W. Carney Jr., the lawyer representing the Corneaus, has promised to take the case to the state's Supreme Judicial Court if the appeal is rejected.