A woman who defied a court order to give up custody of her children by taking them to South Dakota cannot appeal the ruling, the North Dakota Supreme Court said in invoking a rarely used penalty against fugitives.

Lisa Colombe had asked the high court to reverse South Central District Judge Sonna Anderson's November 2007 order granting custody of her 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to the children's father, Jessy Carlson.

Colombe had been found in contempt of court for denying Carlson the opportunity to visit the children. Colombe fired her attorney three days before the contempt hearing began, saying she could not afford to pay her. Colombe did not appear at the hearing.

Colombe also did not show up for a September 2007 trial in Bismarck, which was held to decide whether she or Carlson should have custody of the youngsters. Anderson denied a last-minute request from Colombe's new attorney to delay the trial.

Colombe appealed the custody ruling, but the North Dakota Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week that her appeal should be dismissed.

Its opinion relies on a court doctrine called the "fugitive dismissal rule." Because Colombe has avoided North Dakota court proceedings, she cannot ask the state's judicial system to reverse a decision that is unfavorable to her, the decision says.

Colombe "has left the jurisdiction, denied the children visitation with their father, and flouted the district court's orders," the Supreme Court's opinion says. "On this record, we are convinced Colombe will use the resources of this court only if the outcome benefits her."

Court filings say Colombe, who is a former teacher at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, has taken the children to the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where she is a tribal member. Carlson, a former resident of Forbes, N.D., now lives in Belle Fourche, S.D., court records say.

The Supreme Court first used the fugitive dismissal rule in 2000, in an appeal filed by Kyle Bell, who was challenging his murder conviction in connection with the June 1993 disappearance of 11-year-old Jeanna North of Fargo.

Following his conviction in August 1999, Bell was being driven to an Oregon prison when he escaped from the inmate bus that was transporting him. The Supreme Court ruled Bell had forfeited his appeal rights by fleeing.

Last week's ruling marked the first time the Supreme Court extended the fugitive dismissal rule to a civil case, the court's opinion says.

"We recognize that the fugitive dismissal rule should be invoked with great caution and restraint, and application of the rule is the ultimate sanction," the opinion says. "However, we conclude that the fugitive dismissal rule is applicable to civil cases, and the facts of this case merit such a harsh result."