Thursday, April 01, 1999
Appeal denied in Justin case
Panel agrees birth parents have claim
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A three-judge panel of the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Wednesday unanimously denied an appeal by Rich and Cheryl Asente of Girard, Ohio, seeking to overturn a ruling by Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe that 2-year-old Justin be returned to his biological parents.
A written order supporting the panel's decision acknowledged that Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning, an unmarried Covington couple, signed consent-to-adopt forms before letting Justin, then 11 months old, go live with the Asentes.
But the court said those forms were used for termination of parental rights. It's only when those forms are used in adoption proceedings that the consents become irrevocable after 20 days, the order stated.
Therefore, Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning had a right to believe that they had until a special termination hearing to change their minds, the order stated.
The order also noted that the Asentes signed a “statement of risk,” in which they “acknowledged that the biological parents could revoke consent any time before the hear ing before the judge.”
“All of the parties understood, rightfully, that the biological parents had until the scheduled March 26, 1998, hearing in which to revoke their consent,” it said. “The attorney even had the potential adoptive parents sign a statement to the effect that they understood the 20-day period in which the consent form did not apply.”
It also highlights a note that the Asentes wrote to the biological parents, “recognizing the biological parents' right to revoke their consent, and pleading for them to reconsider.”
“The biological parents unsuccessfully sought to regain custody immediately,” the order stated.
The Asentes have refused to give Justin back for the past year. Their refusal triggered Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning to file a civil lawsuit against the Asentes.
A February trial resulted in Judge Summe invalidating the consents that Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning signed and ordering that the child be returned to their custody.
Another appeal still is pending before the Kentucky Court of Appeals. It protests the visitation plan that Judge Summe established for Justin with his biological parents.
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