Allison Quets was in court Wednesday with the request to see her birth twins. The twins' adoptive parents are challenging Quets' request and have asked a Wake County judge to close the hearing.
Judge Anne Salisbury closed the Wake County courtroom at about 10:45 Wednesday morning at the request of Deborah Sandlin, an attorney for Kevin and Denise Needham of Apex.
Quets, 50, picked up the toddlers for a scheduled visit in December 2006, but she didn't return them as required by a court agreement. She and the twins were later found in Canada two-weeks later.
She pleaded guilty to two counts of international parental kidnapping in September and was sentenced to five years' probation.
In November, Quets filed a lawsuit in Wake County court against Kevin and Denise Needham asking for visitation of the twins.
The Needhams filed a motion to dismiss Quets' suit and also asked the courtroom be closed for the privacy of their family. All adoption proceedings surrounding the case, which originated in Florida, have been closed in that state.
An attorney for the Raleigh News and Observer filed a motion to keep the courtroom open. It is, at least for now, denied.
Judge Salisbury said before closing the court that the Needhams' motion to dismiss will be done without the public. If the Needham's motion is rejected and Quets' lawsuit is heard, that part of the proceeding may be done publicly.
Quets is also challenging the adoption, saying she was severely ill during her pregnancy and under duress when she relinquished the children after their birth in Florida. The Florida courts have upheld the adoption.
