Robert G. Beard v. Stephen G. Udall
Opinion
Opinion
Beard appeals from the district court’s summary judgment against him in a civil rights suit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
I. FACTS
On February 26, 1974 a divorce decree was entered in Maricopa County terminating the marriage of Roger and Stephanie Beard. As part of the decree, Roger Beard (Beard) was awarded custody of his two minor sons. Stephanie Beard subsequently moved to Apache County, where she married Bill Crabtree and began working as a secretary for the County Attorney, Stephen Udall (Udall).
On July 8, 1977 Beard brought his two sons from his home in Maricopa County to visit their mother (Crabtree) in Apache County. While the boys were with their mother, Udall, representing Crabtree in his private capacity, petitioned Judge Greer of the Apache County Court to modify the original divorce decree and award custody of the children to Crabtree. Judge Greer set a hearing on an order to show cause (OSC) and entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting Beard from removing the children from Apache County. The hearing was set for July 29, the day the TRO was due to expire.