Alaina Giordano should not lose her kids...

Appeals Court Grants Temporary Stay in Giordano Custody Case

June 15, 2011 -- DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Court of Appeals today issued a temporary stay of the custody order involving the children of Alaina Giordano, the Durham woman who is battling Stage 4 breast cancer.

Attorneys for Ms. Giordano on Tuesday filed the temporary stay motion with the court, stating that Ms. Giordano and her children would “suffer irreparable harm” if her children, Sofia, 11, and Bud, 6, were forced to move to Illinois before her appeal was resolved.

Though her cancer currently is stable, District Court Judge Nancy Gordon cited the illness as the primary reason for an April 25 ruling granting full custody of the children to their father, Kane Snyder, who resides 800 miles away in Chicago, IL. A worldwide furor ensued, with sentiment strongly supporting the notion that Ms. Giordano, a stay-at-home mom, should remain the primary caregiver.

Though today’s decision effectively allows the children to remain in their home in Durham under the care of their mother, the children still will travel to Chicago this Friday to commence a three-week summer vacation with Mr. Snyder, based upon a previously-agreed summer custody schedule. However, the children no longer have to view Friday’s trip as a permanent relocation.

“I am so pleased to hear the news that the Court of Appeals has granted this stay,” said Ms. Giordano. “My children wish to remain here, with me, in Durham, where they have great friends and familiar surroundings. They are so relieved to know that they will be coming back here – to their home – after this brief vacation with their father.

“Though this is one step in what will be, I’m sure, a lengthy appeals process, I am gratified to see that justice can still be served and that the best interests of my children have finally been acknowledged.”

The Court of Appeals will next consider the Petition for Writ of Supersedeas, also filed Tuesday, in determining whether to grant an additional stay -- which would last for the duration of the appeals process. No timetable for that decision has been given.

Your $upport and prayers for Alaina boost her spirits in many ways. As you know, she is less than two weeks from losing her children to her abusive ex husband because of her stage IV breast cancer diagnosis. The stress of the looming date, the legal deadlines, and the media attention all cause tremendous strain on her, which can and will affect her health in negative ways. Please, if you have any questions about her case or her relationship with her ex or her children, contact me at shkatsanis@frontier.com or her friend Jordan at jordan@leapfrogmktg.com. We will be happy to have a truthful discussion at any time out of the public dialogue. We are limiting disparaging remarks or press from this fundraising effort and the Facebook fanpage to PROTECT Alaina from seeing the hurtful comments. Her attorneys feel the judgment was an abuse of discretionary power and that it is unnecessary to publicize the judgment as it only confuses the public. The judgment itself IS public, so all supporters are welcome to read it as well as the countering affidavits, but it will not be posted here as per her attorneys' request. Again, many, many thanks for your support of Alaina, she really needs it at this difficult time. She is a strong, beautiful mother who has been a victim of an abusive, manipulative relationship and a justice system that rewards whoever has the most money. She is LIVING with cancer, not DYING from cancer and we will not let her be punished for this!

Alaina's friends set up a web site and have linked affidavits submitted to counter the misguided judgment to move her children to Chicago. http://www.friendsofalaina.com/index.php/court-filings

Without your support, this appeal would not have been possible. Thanks you!