Sect mothers seek FLDS children

SAN ANGELO, Texas, May 29 (UPI) -- Lawyers for a group of mothers whose children were taken in the raid on a polygamous sect's Texas ranch have filed responses with the state Supreme Court.

The legal responses were electronically filed by a 9 a.m. deadline, but will not be considered filed until paper copies are submitted, The Deseret News reported Thursday.

The high court is considering an appellate court ruling that ordered the return of some of the children in state protective custody,

An appeals court said the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services erred in removing hundreds of children from the ranch where members of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints live near Eldorado, Texas.

In a 22-page filing, lawyers for 38 mothers said it is not too late for Texas to correct a "mistake" and return the children.

"The issue here is not whether the Department acted in good faith at the time of the removal, but whether -- 14 days later -- it had satisfied the Legislature's mandatory criteria for continuing custody of the children," attorney Amy Warr wrote.