New legislation may be introduced here in Michigan that would keep courts from factoring in military duty during custody cases. The idea stems from a case where a Michigan Army National Guard member says that he lost shared custody of his 10-year-old son because he served in Iraq last year.

Specialist Joe McNeilly of Grand Ledge agreed to give temporary full-time custody to the boy's mother, but after he returned from Iraq, an Ingham County court official recommended against restoring his shared custody. The court says his deployment didn't cause the loss of custody.