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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Ind. Courts - "Star files challenge to open adoption records"

Recall this ILB entry quoting from an Indianapolis Star story from Jan. 21, 2007, by Kevin Corcoran, headlined "State appeals twin girls' adoption by N.J. man." (The earlier, lengthy Star story is still available, here.) Some quotes:

Months after a Hamilton County judge decided in closed court to allow an unmarried New Jersey man to adopt twin girls over the objection of child welfare officials, the state is appealing the decision.

The state's notice to the Indiana Court of Appeals indicates officials will challenge whether the blond, blue-eyed girls, born six weeks early to a surrogate mother at Methodist Hospital in April 2005, had special needs making them hard to place. * * *

Melinger's attorney, Steven C. Litz, filed an emergency motion in Hamilton County last week seeking a hearing on whether parties in the case should be held in contempt for violating confidentiality orders.

Litz's motion also asked for an emergency restraining order against The Indianapolis Star prohibiting it "from publishing further articles relating to this matter, including the filing of this motion." Hughes denied that motion Thursday.

Early this afternoon the Star posted this story by Corcoran on its website, reporting:
The Indianapolis Star today challenged a decision by the clerk of Indiana's courts to withhold records in the appeal of an umarried New Jersey man's controversial adoption in 2005 of twins born to a paid surrogate mother. * * *

In a petition filed today with the Indiana Court of Appeals, the newspaper's attorneys argued the public interest would be served by opening the appellate records. The adoptions drew scrutiny after Indiana child welfare officials responded to concerns that hospital employees had raised regarding Melinger's ability to care for the girls before they were discharged from Methodist's neonatal intensive-care unit.

A juvenile court judge allowed access in 2005 to the Melinger child welfare case file, which included information about the adoptions, citing important ethical and policy issues raised by the girls' births and their subsequent adoptions. Several months later, a different trial judge removed the child welfare file from public view.

The Star's petition for access was filed after the clerk of the appellate courts, Kevin S. Smith, refused to allow a Star reporter to examine records the Indiana Court of Appeals will rely on to make its public ruling on the Melinger adoptions.

The ILB has attempted to access the record of the case in the Court Clerk's docket. Even if a case is sealed, it is my understanding, as has been reported in recent ILB entries, something should turn up -- at least the indication that such a case exists and that it is sealed, hopefully more.

Entering Melinger's name in the docket did not yield a return; entering the name of the guardian (obtained from the earlier Star story), did return this case number, 29 A 02 - 0611 - CV - 01018. The case number produced this copy of the public docket to date.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 22, 2007 12:56 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts