Tuesday, June 15, 1999
Mediation ordered in Justin case
Judge: Sides in thorny adoption must sit down
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — After at least an hour's discussion Monday, attorneys involved in the custody battle of 2-year-old Justin Moore left Kenton Circuit Court in agreement on one thing:
Mediation — whereby both couples fighting to rear the child will sit down at a table, air their differences and perhaps agree to a resumption of visits — will continue.
“There will be mediation,” said Susan Eisenman, the Columbus attorney representing Rich and Cheryl Asente of Girard, Ohio, as she was leaving Kenton Circuit Court. But, “the parties are very polarized right now.”
On one side are the Asentes, the couple who already has adopted Justin's full biological brother, Joey, and welcomed Justin into their home more than a year ago.
On the other is Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning, an unmarried Covington couple who considered giving Justin up for adoption but changed their minds, and, since then, have been fighting for his return.
On Monday, Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe granted a motion filed by the biological parents' attorneys and re-issued an order for both couples to seek mediation services from Beech Acres Mediation Services in Cincinnati.
The goal will be for the couples to talk about Justin's day-to-day routine, work toward diminishing some of the antagonism between themselves and perhaps allow visits to resume between Justin and his biological parents.
The couples are locked in a custody war that is being fought on two fronts — Kentucky and Ohio — and there's still no clear way to determine which state will have jurisdiction.
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