Yesterday's surprise court ruling in favor of a polygamous sect has Texas authorities scrambling, Time reports. An appeals judge ruled that the state had no right to seize children suspected of being sexually abused from the Yearning for Zion ranch. Officials now must appeal the ruling or return the children within 10 days
Both the state and the sect appear to be gearing up for further legal battles. Supporters of the sect families were jubilant after the ruling but others were shocked and upset. "I just can't believe they are just sending them back," one woman who fled a sect community told the Houston Chronicle. "We have just lost another generation." (More Texas stories.)