It's a setback but not the end for Quets, who has fought from the start to undo her decision to let an Apex couple adopt her twins. Michael S. Harrell, Quets' lawyer, said they would likely continue to pursue visitation rights.

Wake County District Court Judge Anne Salisbury dismissed Quets' request for visitation with the 2 1/2-year-old twins, Holly and Tyler. Salisbury ruled that because Quets' parental rights had been terminated by Florida courts, she was barred from seeking any custody rights.

Quets asked a Florida court to undo her adoption consent soon after she signed it. Florida courts declined.

The twins were adopted by Kevin and Denise Needham, relatives of Quets' friend, in 2005. Quets visited with the twins in December 2006, when she fled with them to Canada.

In December, a federal judge sentenced Quets to five years of probation for kidnapping the twins.

Quets, who has now settled in the mountains of North Carolina, took the latest ruling in stride, Harrell said Thursday.

"She was certainly disappointed but measured and even-handed," Harrell said. "It's not like this was her first setback in the courts."

Quets' tale has captured international attention. Quets, a Lockheed Martin engineer, became pregnant in 2004 through in-vitro fertilization. She fell ill during the pregnancy and eventually agreed to let the Needhams adopt Holly and Tyler. When she kidnapped the twins, Quets still had her visitation rights as she appealed her consent for the adoption in higher courts in Florida.

Her persistence in trying to be a part of her children's lives is testing unfamiliar legal ground.

"It raises all sorts of questions," said Janet Mason, an adoption expert with the N.C. Institute of Government in Chapel Hill. "Which state has jurisdiction? Which state's laws apply?"

Harrell, Quets' attorney, said she could appeal the judge's dismissal to the state Court of Appeals or ask the courts in Florida to enforce Quets' "open adoption" with the Needhams. Florida, unlike North Carolina, allows natural parents to maintain contact with a child even after the adoption. Harrell said the Florida courts have never been asked to simply enforce Quets' rights through the open adoption.

During Quets' federal court sentencing, prosecutors argued that Quets continued to pursue visitation as a means of harassing the Needhams.

Harrell argued there was nothing mean-spirited about Quets' crusade to reunite with her twins.

"This was a serious filing," Harrell said. "It was not meant to harangue the Needhams in any way. [Quets] has rights that haven't been adjudicated."

Salisbury noted as much in her decision.

"The Court notes the sensitive nature of this case and recognizes the strong feelings of love and affection held by both parties for the children at issue," she wrote.

(Staff writer Sarah Ovaska contributed to this report.)