« Ind. Decisions - Transfer list for week ending December 21, 2007 | Main | Environment - More on: Hearing in Edwardsville today on proposed Duke Energy power plant »
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Ind. Decisions - "Judges uphold twins' adoption"
Reporting on yesterday's COA opinion in the case of Adoption of Infants H., Marion Co. Div. of Indiana Dept. of Child Services v. Stephen Melinger [see ILB entry here], Keith Manning of the Indianapolis Star writes:
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday rejected an effort by state child welfare officials to block a New Jersey man's controversial adoption of twins born in Indianapolis.
At the heart of the case was the state's contention that the children were ineligible for an out-of-state adoption and that the rules governing such adoptions were broken.But on a 3-0 decision, the Court of Appeals rejected those arguments by the Department of Child Services and affirmed the adoption of Kathy Zee and Karen Zaria Melinger. Stephen F. Melinger hired a surrogate mother more than two years ago, when he was 58. * * *
Melinger filed an adoption petition April 13, 2005. There were numerous court hearings and motions by the state during the next 18 months. The adoption was finalized in October 2006.
In the ruling, appeals court judges said many of the doubts raised by DCS attorneys were the result of mistakes by the agency itself.
For example, DCS attorneys said in their appeal that Indiana courts could not grant the adoption because the girls were not residents of the state. But the agency failed to make that claim during the initial adoption hearing, which the judges ruled made the point moot for appeal.
Indiana law says children must be considered "hard to place" before they can be adopted by someone from outside the state. DCS attorneys argued that the twins did not meet those criteria, which include such factors as race, ethnic background, disability or being siblings.
The court found "remarkable DCS' allegation the twins are not a 'sibling group that should be placed in the same home.' . . . Twins are siblings from birth."
The department also argued that the adoption did not meet the requirements of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, which governs adoptions across state lines.
But the appeals court judges ruled that it was up to DCS to raise such concerns during the initial court proceedings. Failing to do so is a mistake the appeals court cannot reverse.
"DCS . . . is responsible for any error in the trial court's failure to comply," the judges wrote. "DCS cannot now be heard to complain about the trial court's noncompliance."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 22, 2007 06:19 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions