Wednesday, February 17, 1999
Couple appeal in fight for tot
'Informed decision' issue challenged
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A northern Ohio couple hoping to adopt a 2-year-old boy have appealed a Northern Kentucky judge's decision that a Covington couple did not make an informed decision when the couple decided to place him with Richard and Cheryl Asente.
Louisville attorney Mitchell A. Charney, one of two attorneys representing the Asentes of Girard, Ohio, submitted the appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals within the past week. .
The Asentes have promised an appeal since a Feb. 4 hearing, when Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe ruled that 2-year-old Justin, who has been living with the Asentes since February 1998, should be returned to his birth parents.
In a written opinion, she said the birth parents — Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning — signed forms terminating their parental rights with the understanding that the termination wouldn't be final until after a special termination hearing.
But in Kentucky, parental rights can be severed by either signing consent forms or through a termination hearing. Both steps are not needed.
Justin's birth parents filed a lawsuit in August to regain custody. Judge Summe ruled in their favor, saying they had not been fully aware of what they were doing.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals already has rejected a motion by the Asentes claiming the Kenton Circuit Court has no jurisdiction in the case because Justin was living in Ohio.
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