California appeals court upholds parentage determination for Colonel in US Air Force Reserves

On Friday, in S.Y. v. S.B., the California Third Appellate District upheld a trial court order that found S.Y. to be a parent of two children adopted by her partner, S.B.  This case is signifcant because S.B. argued that her partner had not "received the children into her home" as required by statute because she maintained a separate residence for almost the entire 13+ years of their relationship

South Carolina appeals court reverses custody award to father that was based in part on mother's abortion

Since the mid 1970's, gay rights advocates, and advocates for children, have argued that a judge's view of the morality of a gay or lesbian parent should not influence the judge's decision on custody or visitation. Gay and lesbian parents do continue to lose custody or face vistitation restrictions in some counties and states, but rulings explicitly based on morality are rare.  Of course some

Texas Supreme Court lets stand lower court order registering the parentage judgment of a gay male couple

On September 30, the Texas Supreme Court denied review in a case brought by the nonbiological father of a child born using his ex-partner's sperm to a California surrogate mother. The couple, Jerry Berwick and Richard Wagner, lived in Texas, and had a child in December 2005 pursuant to a gestational surrogacy contract in California. Berwick is the biological father. Pursuant to agreements filed

Nebraska Supreme Court rules nonbio mom entitled to hearing on custody and visitation

The facts are sad but common. Lesbian couple, Teri Latham and Susan Rae Schwerdtfeger, were together for 20 years and had a child born to Susan using donor semen about 15 years into their relationship, in 2001. They cared for the child as co-parents. In 2006 they split up. The child stayed with Susan but Teri claimed that she continued to see her son three to five times a week and to support

Judge rules Catholic Charities has no property right to renewal of contract for adoption and foster care services

An Illinois state trial judge has thrown out the law suit filed by Catholic Charities of Illinois. The state of Illinois refused to renew the agency's contract to provide adoption and foster placement services because Catholic Charities said it would not place children with unmarried couples, including same-sex couples in civil unions. The agency sued.Normally we think such lawsuits are about

Wisconsin trial court upholds domestic partner registry

Almost two years ago, Wisconsin instituted a domestic partner registry, which was immediately challenged as a violation of the state's super-DOMA. I wrote at the time that the state would have an easier time defending the registry if it had made the criteria more inclusive and less mirroring of marriage.Well, yesterday a state trial court upheld the constitutionality of the registry in a 53 page

Wyoming Supreme Court allows married same-sex couple to divorce

The five justices on the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday that a lesbian couple married in Canada could divorce in Wyoming. The opinion in Christiansen v. Christiansen reverses a lower court ruling that the couple could not divorce because Wyoming law prohibits same-sex marriages.Paula and Victoria Lee Christiansen were married in Canada in 2008. Paula filed for divorce in

Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down adoption and foster parenting ban

As I predicted after watching the oral argument, the Arkansas Supreme Court today struck down Act 1, the initative banning anyone living with an unmarried partner from being a foster or adoptive parent. There was no dissent in the case, Arkansas Dept. of Human Services v. Cole. The court held that the ban violates the fundamental right of the plaintiffs to sexual intimacy in their home.Because

Nonbio mom, Sondra Shineovich, successful on remand from Oregon Court of Appeals

In 2009, I wrote extensively about the Oregon Court of Appeals ruling in Shineovich v. Kemp. The court held that the consent of a biological mother's same-sex partner to her insemination, with the intent to parent the resulting child, made the nonbio mom a legal parent. The court reviewed the state's statute making a husband the parent of a child born to his wife using donor insemination to

Delaware Supreme Court upholds de facto parent statute and upholds joint custody award

Two years ago, in an opinion I criticized extensively, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a woman whose partner was a child's only legal parent (through adoption) lacked standing to obtain custody or visitation when the couple split up. In response to that decision, the Delaware legislature amended its definition of "parent" to include de facto parents, a move I praised as extensively as I had

Another New York appeals court recognizes a same-sex Canadian marriage...and a reminder about what the DOJ announcement is NOT about

The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, ruled today that the marriage between a decedent and his surviving partner in Canada is entitled to be recognized in New York. (To read the opinion, In re Estate of Ranftle, you need to click here and scroll down to page 8). The couple, J. Craig Leiby and H. Kenneth Ranftle, married in Canada in June 2008, and in August 2008,

Arkansas Supreme Court approves visitation rights for non-bio mom

In a 5-2 decision, the Arkansas Supreme Court yesterday affirmed a trial court ruling granting visitation rights to a nonbiological mother The case, Bethany v. Jones, has a familiar fact pattern. Alicia Bethany and Emily Jones had been together for five years when Bethany gave birth to a child that she and Jones planned for together. They gave the child Jones as a last name and also gave her a

When lesbians conceive through sexual intercourse, different legal issues arise

We don't discuss it much. It confounds notions of fixed sexuality and fidelity. But sometimes when a lesbian couple wants a child one partner conceives through sexual intercourse. Relatively speaking, it is cheap and reliable. But it alters the legal context of everything that follows. In Quebec, the law explicitly recognizes that assisted reproduction can include reproduction through sexual

Vermont Supreme Court agains rules in Janet Jenkins' favor

In an opinion dated last Friday, the Vermont Supreme Court has upheld the order of a family court judge transferring custody of Isabella Miller-Jenkins to her nonbiological mother, Janet Jenkins. Isabella (identified as IMJ in the court rulings) has been underground with her biological mother, Lisa Miller, since the court ordered the custody transfer. This latest opinion does nothing in any

New York court upholds California parentage judgment in surrogacy case

Surrogacy is illegal in New York (DC also!). That doesn't stop a New Yorker from going someplace where surrogacy is legal to have child. A gay male couple, DP and TR, did just that. They went to California, where a gestational mother became pregnant using a donor egg and semen from DP. Pursuant to a standard California practice, they went to court there, along with the surrogate and her husband,

Wyoming Supreme Court recognizes unmarried partners property rights

Jerald Hofstad and Cathryn Christie lived together from 1996 to 2007, with some breaks. They had two children and also raised five children from Jerald's previous relationship. Their case wound up in the Wyoming courts over a dispute concerning the size of Cathryn's share of the home they owned together. The home was purchased in 2005, using the proceeds from the sale of a home Jerald owned in

Florida appeals court finds ban on gay and lesbian adoptions unconstitutional

In a long-awaited ruling, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, in In re Adoption of X.X.G. & N.R.G. (usually referred to as the Gill case), has declared the state's ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians unconstitutional. The three-judge panel unanimously upheld the trial court's ruling and held that the ban violated the Florida constitution's guarantee of equal protection. The court

There will be no popular vote on marriage equality in DC

The DC Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, ruled this morning in Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics that the marriage equality legislation enacted last year by the DC City Council is not a proper subject for the initiative or referendum process. That means there will be no popular vote on marriage equality in DC.The ruling was 5-4, but the specific subject of same-sex

Second-parent adoption in Georgia...oh and in France

To read about it in the news, the big story out of France is the decision of the country's highest court that a child who has been adopted by her biological mother's partner in the US has two legally recognized parents in France. (I'm trying not to be too annoyed that this account of the court's decision says the women are both physicians but calls them "Mrs. B" and "Mrs. N"). And that is indeed

"Paramour provision" once again removed from Tennessee custody decree

When I wrote last fall about Angel Chandler's successful appeal from a provision in her custody decree prohibiting her from having a "paramour" overnight in her home while her children were there, I thought that would be the end of it. Silly me.The Tennessee Court of Appeals sent Angel's case back to the trial court for a hearing on what the children's best interests required, and the judge once