A Virginia pastor is appealing an order that he testify about the escape of a woman who didn't want to share custody of her daughter with her former Vermont civil union partner.

Attorneys are expected to wrap up their defense of a Virginia Mennonite pastor on trial for allegedly helping a woman flee the country with her child, rather than share custody with her former same-sex partner in Vermont.

A jury of 11 women and three men in Burlington will decide charges against a Mennonite pastor from Virginia.

Jury selection is set to begin in a Vermont federal court today for a Virginia man charged with helping a woman flee the United States with her daughter, rather than share custody of the girl with her former same-sex partner.

Members of the state Supreme Court had tough questions for the lawyer of a Virginia woman who disappeared in the middle of a long-running child custody dispute. The case has raised questions about whether same-sex partners have the same custody and visitation rights as heterosexual couples.