A couple's battle for custody of their 6 year-old son took another twist yesterday when their attorney left the case because, he said, the parents are now in conflict with each other.
Mark Narens said he could no longer represent Paul and Sherry Lipscomb, who lost their son to Franklin County Children Services after they enrolled him in school as a girl. Narens said he based his decision partly on Mrs. Lipscomb's statement that she never left the child alone overnight with her husband because "both are too hotheaded."
Mr. Lipscomb said his wife's statement, quoted in this week's Time magazine, "is a bunch of bull."
"It's a ploy to get sole custody," he said yesterday outside the courtroom of Juvenile Court Judge Kay Lias. Inside, attorneys representing the child argued against Narens, as well as attorneys for the news media, over whether further proceedings in the case will be open to the public.
Lias said yesterday that she will rule on the matter Wednesday.
In the Time article, Mr. Lipscomb says he is suffering from the same gender-identity disorder as his son.
Mrs. Lipscomb left after yesterday's hearing and could not be reached for comment.
The Lipscombs' case has drawn media attention from as far as Germany.
The couple alerted the local media when Children Services filed a complaint seeking custody of the boy, alleging the parents were not meeting his needs. The couple arranged to hand him over to caseworkers last month at the offices of WCMH-TV (Channel 4) as cameras rolled.
The Lipscombs have said they want media coverage to ensure the proceedings are fair. They say the taking of their child, who they said has gender-identity disorder, is discriminatory.
The parents have said they were giving their child the freedom to express his chosen gender by allowing him to wear girls' clothing, go by a girl's name and play with toys associated with girls.
The Lipscombs filed papers last month in Franklin County to legally change his name from a boy's to a girl's.
The case "has ruined my family," Mr. Lipscomb said. "All I want is my kid back."
He said he and Mrs. Lipscomb have had problems; they were separated for 14 months at one time. "But I don't know where she comes up with this statement. Maybe she thinks she's a better parent."
He said he has yelled at their child, but never hit him.
Mrs. Lipscomb has said in court that there were instances of domestic violence at home when her husband was frustrated with their child and she stepped in to protect the youngster.
Both parents have bipolar disorder, and Mr. Lipscomb says he believes he and his child both have a gender-identification disorder that makes them feel trapped inside the wrong body.
"I didn't ask for it and neither did she," Mr. Lipscomb said. The parents refer to the child as she.
Mr. Lipscomb said he can see in his child symptoms he had as a child. "You have feelings of depression, thoughts of suicide, being alone."
He said he was beaten when he tried to behave as a girl. He said he wants his child "to have all the freedoms I didn't have."
Several mental-health problems have been diagnosed in the child over the years and he has been hospitalized three times for psychiatric care, according to court papers.
Rebecca Steele, a public defender appointed to represent the boy's best interests, said there is more at issue than gender identity: The boy has said he wanted to kill his parents and has had suicidal fantasies when with them.
Jolie S. Brams, a child psychologist, testified yesterday that such a history of troubles is rare and shows just how fragile the child is. Brams said media coverage could harm the child's mental state and development.
Marion Little, an attorney representing The Dispatch, argued that Brams' testimony should be stricken from the record or disregarded because she had not evaluated or observed the boy, or read his psychological records.
The boy remains in a foster home where he dresses as a boy and receives psychological and medical services, according to testimony last week. After Lias rules whether to close further hearings to the public, she will hear arguments on whether he will remain in foster care or be returned to the Lipscombs pending a trial in November.
At that trial, the judge could decide whether the parents were negligent and whether the boy will stay in foster care or be returned to the Lipscombs with or without orders for treatment and counseling.
© 2000, The Columbus Dispatch