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San Angelo, Texas: In a ruling that could torpedo the case against the West Texas polygamist sect, a state appeals court on Thursday said authorities had no right to seize more than 440 children in a raid on the splinter group's compound last month.
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin said the state failed to show the youngsters were in any immediate danger.
It was not clear when the children - now scattered in foster homes across Texas - might be returned to their parents. The ruling gave a lower-court judge 10 days to release the youngsters from custody, but the state could appeal to the Texas Supreme Court and block that.
The decision in one of the biggest child-custody cases in US history was a humiliating defeat for the state Child Protective Services agency.
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