Saturday, February 19, 2000
Ohio atttorney general wants Justin case
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — Ohio's attorney general says Ohio courts should have kept jurisdiction in the high-profile, two-state custody battle over Justin.
She wants the Ohio Supreme Court to make a definitive ruling.
Attorney General Betty Montgomery, in a brief filed Friday, said Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals was wrong when it ruled in November that Kentucky had jurisdiction. The differing opinions create uncertainty, she said, and therefore it is appropriate for Ohio's highest court to review it and rule.
She also called the argument being made by Justin's biological parents weak — they claim that they didn't understand their adoption agreements were final two years ago, shortly after they signed them.
“We appreciate her advocacy,” said Susan Eisenman, a Columbus attorney representing the Girard, Ohio, couple trying to adopt Justin. “It's something we wanted and I feel very good about it.”
Ms. Montgomery's brief was the last the court awaited in the case. Now, justices could take between a month and three months, officials said, to review all briefs and decide if they will hear the adoptive parents' appeal.
That concerns lawyers for the biological parents, Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning of Covington, who are working to get Justin back.
“It's still just one lawyer's opinion,” said Dick Cullison of the Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society. “But I am worried that this will add another layer of delay.”
Justin, who turns 3 on Feb. 28, lives in Girard with Rich and Cheryl Asente, who have been trying to adopt him through Ohio courts since June 1998. The boy has lived with them since February of that year.
Justin's biological brother, 4-year-old Joey, has been adopted by the Asentes. The couple adopted him before Justin was born.
In Justin's case, his biological parents' consent became final according to Kentucky law 20 days after the forms were signed. But they insist they did not know that, so Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe ruled that they did not make an informed decision about the adoption. She has ordered the boy returned, but that's on hold pending the Ohio appeal and one in Kentucky.
Meanwhile, she continues to monitor the progress of visits between Justin and his biological parents, as well as mediation between the two sets of parents.
Despite Judge Summe's ruling, the Asentes continue to try to adopt Justin in Ohio. An Ohio Probate Court judge last spring said they would be better parents than Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning and ruled that Ohio had jurisdiction. The appeals court in November reversed that.
Mitchell Charney, a Louisville attorney for the Asentes, said he did not want to comment on Ms. Montgomery's brief. Their attorney in Columbus, Charles Milless, could not be reached for comment. Judge Summe declined to comment.
Ms. Montgomery's brief pointed out that she comes to the issue with no special knowledge of either side nor with any vested interest in a certain resolution. She said she wrote the brief, in part, out of concern that similar disputes will occur.
“Just as appellate courts must do,” she wrote, “we have tried to reach a result that will make sense not only in this case, but the next one.”
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