Sailor Child Custody

In this June 20, 2014 photo, Heidi Barber, right, demonstrates support for U.S. Navy petty officer Matthew Hindes outside Lenawee County Circuit Court in Adrian, Mich. Hindes who is aboard a U.S. Navy submarine, is in a child custody dispute in Michigan, despite a federal law that typically requires a delay in court cases involving members of the armed services. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Robert Allen)

(AP)

DETROIT, MI - A Navy sailor on active duty in the Pacific won't face contempt of court after a Michigan judge backed off her demand that he return home for a child custody hearing.

Matthew Hindes, serving aboard a U.S. Navy submarine, had been ordered to attend court hearings in Lenawee County in southeastern Michigan. He's been unable to attend because he's in the Pacific Ocean.

Over the weekend, Lenawee County Judge Margaret Noe postponed a custody hearing scheduled for Monday until October. Her initial decision threatening Hindes with jail had drawn national outcries of disservice to an active duty member of the military.

"The actions of this judge are a slap in the face to all servicemen and women who put their lives on the line protecting America," said state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge.

In delaying the trial, Noe said she only learned Hindes was on active duty June 16.

At issue in the case is custody of Hindes' 6-year-old daughter, who is living with her step-mother in Washington state. The judge wants the daughter returned to her birth mother.

Hindes' former wife, Angela Hindes, lost custody of their child in 2010 amid allegations of neglect, but she wants to regain custody. She lives in northern Ohio. The legal case is in Michigan where the couple divorced.

Matthew Hindes' attorney said the case should be suspended for at least 90 days under a federal law covering service members on active duty.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.