In Cook County, Illinois, Judge James Shapiro has restored Rebecca Firlit’s rights to see her 11-year-old son after previously revoking the privilege until she was vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Shapiro earlier this month gave custody of Firlit’s son to her vaccinated ex-husband. The couple has been divorced for seven years and previously shared custody, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
On Monday, however, the judge revoked his previous order banning Firlit from seeing her son, according to the Sun-Times.
“This court vacated paragraph 3 of its order of August 11, 2021 on the basis of the absence of statements or hearings on serious danger,” Shapiro’s order was reported.
The court document did not reveal any additional information as to why Shapiro decided to reverse his decision.
Firlit told the Sun-Times on Monday that she is “extremely happy” with the reversal.
“I am very happy, now I will see my son,” he said, adding, “I know they will say I am a danger to my son. This is not over for me.”
His lawyer, Annette Fernholz, previously told Fox 32 Chicago that Shapiro’s initial decision was beyond his authority.
“In this case, you have a judge, with no question in front of him regarding parenting time with the child deciding‘ Oh, you’re not vaccinated. You will not be able to see your child until you have the vaccine. That guy exceeds his jurisdiction, ”he said.
Jeffrey Leving, Firlit’s ex-husband’s lawyer, said Shapiro’s decision was “unfortunate” and vowed to continue the legal fight.
“I’m working on an emergency motion right now to fight it,” he said Monday, according to the Sun-Times.
According to the Sun-Times, Shapiro has reported vaccination status of people in other child support cases.
According to the New York Times, Ohio judges ordered people to be vaccinated as part of their parole, and Georgia judges have reduced sentences for offenders who were inoculated, WSB-TV 2 reported. Atlanta.