All in.

Jake is all in. We will APPEAL! Fasten your seat belt, it's gonna get bumpy. We can't wait to get before the Utah Supreme Court and have Jake's constitutional rights and due process motions ruled on. There is no doubt, that Jake and Jackson will be reunited. If only the process was quicker. It will probably take about 2 years for a ruling.

 

Jake not only chose to continue to be with his son, but to get the laws changed in Utah and protect others from this happening.

We will never stop until justice prevails.

 

Thank you again for all of the positive words of encouragement. We sincerely appreciate all of the support we have received.

 

“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.

It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
― William Jennings Bryan

 

"Even if things don't unfold the way you expected, don't be disheartened or give up.

 One who continues to advance will win in the end.”
― Daisaku Ikeda

Rescheduled Once Again...

Court has been rescheduled once again. Judge Hamilton realized the extent of our case and has requested longer than 30 minutes for our case to be heard. Court will now be on

Monday August 6th at 2:00 PM

at the Layton Courthouse.

The address is 435 North Wasatch Drive
Layton, UT 84041.

 Sorry again for the change it date, but this really gives us hope

that this Judge will see through the all the lies, fraud and corruption.

Finally a court date

We finally have a court date! August 1st at 1:30 PM we will be meeting in Farmington 2nd District Court in front of Judge Hamilton. This court hearing will determine if we will be granted permission to intervene in the adoption proceeding. We pray that this Judge will do what is right and grant Jake a chance to be heard.

Although court is 6 weeks away we are excited to finally have a court date. We have been anxiously awaiting for this.

Please keep Jake and Jack in your prayers and pray that the prospective adoptive couple will have the strength and courage to do what it is right in their hearts and choose to give Jackson back to his loving father.

Jackson Michael Strickland, you are so loved, cared about and thought about every single day. Although, you are getting older our love for you has only gotten stronger. We wish we knew you were healthy and happy. We have been denied an opportunity to hear how you are growing, developing and enjoying life. We hope one day soon we will get to witness your personality, and get to know your quirks and characteristics. WE LOVE YOU Jackson and will never stop fighting.

Utah Adoption Council President Resigns...

SALT LAKE CITY
By: Lori Prichard
— The president of the Utah Adoption Council resigned Tuesday amid controversy over claims the council is working to undermine the rights of birth fathers. Wes Hutchins was to serve another month as president of the Ut ah Adoption Council (UAC) — a group consisting of adoption agencies, adoption attorneys, families, and birth mothers and fathers. Instead, he's founded a new nonprofit organization he says will work in the best interests of all parties in adoptions. There was certainly friction in Tuesday's council meeting, as some representing adoption agencies accused Hutchins of having his own agenda. In turn, he pointed fingers at them for not acting ethically in administering adoptions. "I'm a big proponent of adoptions, but I firmly believe they need to be done legally, constitutionally and ethically." –Wes Hutchins, former UAC president "I'm an adoption attorney. I've done over 1,080 adoptions, (and) finalized six adoptions on Friday of last week alone," Hutchins said, following the meeting. "I'm a big proponent of adoptions, but I firmly believe they need to be done legally, constitutionally and ethically." Hutchins pointed to what he calls "egregious cases of fraud," namely: the case of Christopher Carlton, who was told by the birth mother that his child had died, and the case of Robert Manzanares, who was told by the birth mother she was traveling from Colorado to Utah to visit relatives when she was actually giving up their child. These cases, and many like them, provide evidence, Hutchins said, that birth mothers should be held accountable. "That's one of the changes that we need to make: that fraud is no longer accepted as a method of taking a child from one home, destroying a family, and placing (the child) in another home to create another family," he said. That opinion conflicts with others who sit on the UAC. "Wes has had a different vision of what's best for children in the state of Utah," said attorney David Hardy, also a former president of the UAC. Hardy, whose clients include adoption agencies and adoptive parents, said Hutchins isn't as focused on what's best for the child. "Wes has taken more of the approach of some of the rights of fathers. He's taken some real strong positions on fathers that are, in many ways, inconsistent with Utah code." –David Hardy, former UAC president "Wes has taken more of the approach of some of the rights of fathers," Hardy said. "He's taken some real strong positions on fathers that are, in many ways, inconsistent with Utah code." "There's been a very choreographed effort to sweep birth fathers and others under the rug," Hutchins said. And some of those birth fathers were present and vocal. "I do have a voice, and it needs to be heard," said Jake Strickland, a father currently fighting for custody of his child. "There's two sides to every story," added Bobby Nevares, a man in the same situation as Strickland, "but they didn't want to hear the father's side." Hutchins said the council didn't really want to hear his side either and accused him of having an agenda. "If you want to call that ‘an agenda,' then absolutely, call it an agenda. And that agenda is to see that we have a balanced approach in Utah to how we're doing adoptions," Hutchins said. It's clear this father's right is a hot-button issue among the council. Today's meeting was certainly tense as each side traded accusations.

Virgina father gets green light to seek damages in Utah Adoption

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Virginia father gets green light to seek damages in Utah adoption

Virginia • High court says he was misled about Baby Emma’s adoption in Utah.

By brooke adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: April 20, 2012 06:15PM
Updated: April 20, 2012 09:52PM

John Wyatt of Dumfries, VA, is trying to get custody of his daughter, Emma, who was given up for adoption to a Utah couple by the girl's mother without his consent. (Photo by Dayna Smith)

The Supreme Court of Virginia on Friday gave new life to the legal battle over a child known as Baby Emma by ruling her father was “purposefully kept in the dark” about her Utah adoption and could argue in federal court that the proceedings interfered with his parental rights.

In a split decision, the justices said John Wyatt could pursue monetary damages in federal court for loss of companionship, mental anguish, loss of services and expenses incurred in his fight to recover his now 3-year-old daughter. Wyatt has a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Mark McDermott, a Virginia attorney; A Act of Love, a Utah adoption agency; Lorraine Moon, the agency employee who facilitated the adoption; Larry Jenkins, a Utah attorney; and the adoptive parents.

The federal court had asked the Virginia Supreme Court to settle two questions: whether the commonwealth recognized the right to pursue a tort action for interference with paternal rights and, if so, what burden of proof must be met and what elements constitute a cause of action.

The decision is the first to address such questions in Virginia, the high court noted.

The majority found that while Virginia statutes do not specifically recognize “tortious interference with parental rights,” such a cause of action has existed in common law since 1607 and “continues to exist today.”

Failure to recognize that claim would “leave a substantial gap in the legal protection afforded to the parent-child relationship,” the majority wrote. It said an “overwhelming majority” of courts in “sister states” have reached similar conclusions.

“It is both astonishing and profoundly disturbing that in this case, a biological mother and her parents, with the aid of two licensed attorneys and an adoption agency, could intentionally act to prevent a biological father — who is in no way alleged to be an unfit parent — from legally establishing his parental rights and gaining custody of a child whom the mother did not want to keep, and that this father would have no recourse in the law,” the majority said.

It said the facts of the case showed that the defendants went to “great lengths to disguise their agenda from the biological father, including preventing notice of his daughter’s birth and hiding their intent to have an immediate out-of-state adoption, in order to prevent the legal establishment of his own parental rights.”

The court also found that Wyatt must meet a preponderance of the evidence standard, a less rigorous standard, in proving “tangible and intangible damages” caused by the “unauthorized” adoption. However, under a tort action, Wyatt is not entitled to seek an injunction or new custody orders involving his child.

There were two dissenting opinions in the 4-3 decision. In one dissent, a justice said that while “the facts as pled by Wyatt are unquestionably disturbing,” there was no cause of action under Virginia law and the majority was engaging in “legislating public policy in Virginia through judicial pronouncement.”

The majority, however, said it hoped that threat of civil action would help “deter third parties such as attorneys and adoption agencies from engaging in the sort of actions alleged to have taken place.”

“It means that if third parties interfere with a person’s normal parental rights, you can sue and hold them liable,” said Philip Hirschkop, Wyatt’s attorney. He said the federal case is set for trial in mid-July.

Wyatt and his then-girlfriend Emily Colleen Fahland were dating when she became pregnant. He accompanied Fahland to doctor appointments, and she repeatedly assured him they would raise the child together.

However, at the behest of her parents, Fahland also met with McDermott, an adoption attorney. He instructed Fahland to falsely indicate on adoption paperwork that she did not know Wyatt’s address, according to the court opinion. At McDermott’s urging, she also made other false statements to Wyatt so that he “would not take steps to secure his parental rights and prevent the adoption.”

Fahland gave birth in Virginia on Feb. 10, 2009, and two days later relinquished her rights and custody of the baby to the adoptive couple, who traveled to Virginia to pick up the infant. On Feb. 18, Wyatt initiated a paternity action in Virginia and was ultimately awarded custody of his daughter. However, a Utah court subsequently found he had no standing to intervene and approved the adoption.

The Utah Supreme Court upheld that finding in July 2011, holding that Wyatt did not meet required deadlines for asserting his parental rights under Utah law. Also, the court found that he was barred from arguing that the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act required Utah to follow a Virginia judge’s order granting him custody because he failed to raise that argument in the lower court.

brooke@sltrib.com

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© 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune

Virginia father gets green light to seek damages in Utah adoption

By brooke adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

Full Story

Missing you...

Jack:

My sweet boy, I have been thinking a lot about you lately. I have definitely not forgotten about you. Easter was on Sunday and as with every holiday my heart ached as I long for you. A huge chunk of my heart is missing and it's waiting for you to fill that void. Jack, I think about you all day everyday and just hope you are well taken care of. I have asked to see you from a far, a picture, a health update anything to settle my heavy heart, and my request was denied. Jack, I know one day I will get to share my love with you. As time goes on, my love only gets stronger for you, not weaker. I hope we get a court date within the next week to intervene in the adoption. I hope that this will all come to an end real soon. I just want you here in my arms, where you are suppose to be.

Jackson, I love you with all my heart. I will never stop fighting.

XoXo,

Daddy Jake

Powerful!

"If you shut up truth and bury it underground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way."

Emile Zola

French Novelist, Critic, Activist

1840-1902

Birth Father's Unite

Bobby Navares. Jake Strickland. Robert Manzanares

One step closer for Rob!

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Full Story

Colorado father’s custody fight moves back to his home state

Adoption • It’s the next step in precedent-setting case.

By brooke adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: March 21, 2012 05:16PM
Updated: March 21, 2012 08:08PM

Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake Tribune Rob Manzanares and his mother, Elizabeth, stand next to their attorney Jennifer Reyes, right, after a Wednesday hearing on the custody of Rob Manzanares' daughter, given up at birth without his consent.

A birth father’s four-year battle for custody of his daughter will now move to a Colorado court after a Utah judge agreed Wednesday to dismiss the child’s adoption.

Third District Judge Paul Maughan said he wants to review the landmark Utah Supreme Court ruling that sent Colorado resident Rob Manzanares’ case back to the lower court but, barring any obstacles, will sign an order dismissing the adoption, which had not been finalized. That will allow a Colorado court to fully take over the dispute. Maughan also ordered that Manzanares’ name be added to his daughter’s birth certificate.

Manzanares, who has fought for his right to parent his daughter since before her birth in 2008, broke down in tears outside the courtroom at the prospect of soon being reunited with her.

“It’s just a step closer to getting to see my girl I’ve been fighting for for so long and I just can’t wait to hold her and bring her home where she belongs, with her family,” said Manzanares of his daughter, who will remain with her prospective adoptive parents for now.

While the Colorado judge has agreed to put the case on a fast track, Manzanares still has a legal fight ahead of him.

The child’s adoptive parents, relatives of the birth mother, have asked the Colorado judge to terminate Manzanares’ parental rights. Carie Terry, the birth mother, also has filed a conditional motion requesting that her parental rights be terminated in Colorado but only after Manzanares’ rights are terminated. Terry’s rights were already terminated in Utah as part of the adoption proceeding here.

Despite that, Manzanares is optimistic the end line is near.

“I believe Colorado will do what’s right and make a determination of the best interests of my daughter,” he said. “No other father should have to go through this and, more importantly, no child should have to go through this. I’ve been asked by many fathers for help and assistance. My biggest thing for them is just be very patient and don’t give up hope and keep fighting and do it in a peaceful manner.”

Attorney Larry Jenkins, who represents the prospective adoptive parents, and attorney David Harding, who represents the birth mother, declined comment after the hearing. The prospective adoptive father also declined comment.

But the tension between the parties was evident as they filed into the courtroom for the hearing when the prospective adoptive father attempted to push Manzanares on the shoulder — but ended up pushing Elizabeth Manzanares, his mother — and called him a “perjurer.”

“I don’t know why,” Manzanares said. “He’s a little upset with me. I have no hard feelings. I hope nothing but the best for them. I just want my daughter back and I’m willing to whatever I can and whatever I need to do to get her back into my arms.”

In a split decision, the Utah Supreme Court ruled in January that Manzanares was improperly denied a say in his daughter’s adoption, with the majority finding he could not have known Terry planned to give birth and place the baby for adoption in Utah due to numerous misleading and false statements she made about her intentions.

In fact, Terry stated in a court filing in a paternity action Manzanares filed in Colorado before the baby’s birth that she had no such plan. Terry gave birth in Utah on Feb. 17, 2008, and appeared in 3rd District Court three days later to relinquish her parental rights; she informed the Colorado court that same day she could not attend a hearing because she was still in Utah visiting a sick relative.

In a subsequent hearing, a Utah judge found Terry had deliberately deceived him and concealed relevant information from judges in Utah and Colorado but allowed the adoption to proceed after ruling that Manzanares had not acted in time to protect his rights under Utah’s stringent statutory deadlines.

In its decision the Utah Supreme Court said it was returning the case to the lower court to determine whether Manzanares met Colorado requirements for establishing paternal rights and shown a full commitment to his parental responsibilities — questions the Colorado court will now decide.

The decision spotlighted problems birth fathers face in Utah and offers some direction for lower court judges, said Jennifer Reyes, Manzanares’ Utah attorney.

“I believe that birth fathers who are willing to step up to the plate and parent their children should be given an opportunity,” Reyes said after Wednesday’s hearing. “Before she was even born, he was saying to everyone, ‘Hello, I’m here, I want to have custody of my daughter, I want to take care of her, I want to love her.’”

Other biological fathers are carefully watching what happens in the case. Jake Strickland, who lives in South Jordan, and Bobby Nevares of Colorado, who also are contesting adoption of their biological children, gathered outside the courtroom Wednesday to support Manzanares.

“It’s not fair that he would have to come here and be by himself when there are so many other guys who are going through the same thing,” said Strickland, who has renewed his effort to intervene in the adoption of his son, born in 2010.

Added Nevares, whose son was also born in 2010 and placed for adoption in Utah: “It’s not just a one-man fight. Showing our support to him gives him the courage to keep going with it. It gives me a lot of hope to see that somebody is going to keep going as far as he has gone.”

brooke@sltrib.com

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© 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune

Colorado father’s custody fight moves back to his home state

By brooke adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=19678850

The Full Clip from the Anderson Cooper Show

Father frustrated by Utah law closer to getting daughter back

Full Story

DENVER - Over the past four years, Rob Manzanares has made many visits to the courthouse.
"It's getting a little hard," he said Friday.
He's been to so many hearings, it is hard to keep track.
"Oh my goodness, I think is 12 or 13 times we've been to court over this matter," he said.
Manzanares is fighting to be a dad to his biological daughter. He says he is fighting what feels like a system of injustice.
What happens in Denver Courtroom 2F on Friday matters to fathers like him all over the country.
Carie Terry is the birth mother of their daughter. A Utah Supreme Court justice said Terry deceived the court and Manzanares by secretly planning to go to Utah and have their baby. She didn't tell him about the birth and then gave her up for adoption to her brother and sister-in-law without his consent. She did that knowing Manzanares has already filed for his parental rights before the child was born.
The Utah Supreme Court recently ruled in Manzanares's favor, sending the case back to Colorado. That is what prompted Friday's hearing.
"I am encouraged, but we are still not at the ultimate goal. That is for me to have custody of her, she is my daughter," he said.
For four years, his daughter has lived with one family in Utah. The attorney for the child's adoptive parents argues it is in her best interest to stay with them despite all legal issues before her birth and since.
Manzanares's lawyer, John Hedrick, calls it an illegal adoption. He says it cannot, by law, stand.
"Rob has never consented to this adoption. The adoptive parents aren't adoptive parents because Utah would still need his consent," Hedrick said.
Terry was at the hearing in Denver on Friday, but she did not want to talk publically about the case. Her lawyer has said, in a statement, that she made the best decisions at that time for her daughter. She is against any disruption of her living situation.
Wes Hutchins is the president of the Utah Adoption Council and a lawyer. He says Utah law stacks the deck against unmarried biological dad. He says there are birth mothers exploiting it.
"The idea that birth mothers can travel from any other state and be in Utah for two or three days and give birth to a child and then leave the state with the sole purpose of cutting off the rights of the birth father's has to stop," Hutchins said.
The hearing ended with another one set. The next could determine custody of the little girl. Manzanares is optimistic.
"Every step now is a court hearing closer to maybe the ultimate goal of having in my arms," he said.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

Anderson Cooper Clips

Check out andersoncooper.com to see more about Jake's Journey on the Anderson Cooper show. It is amazing!

Court hearing over baby's adoption may mark change in fathers' rights in Utah

Fox13

Aaron Vaughn, Web Producer FOX 13 News

9:45 p.m. MST, February 28, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY—

Robert Manzanares lives in New Mexico. For the past four years he has traveled to Utah waging a legal battle to get his daughter back.

Manzanares says he has taken a hit emotionally and financially with legal fees totaling more than $170,000. A recent Utah Supreme Court ruling is giving him a glimmer of hope.   

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Get It Now: FOX 13 News E-mail Newsletters and Text Message Alerts | Mobile Web Site and Smartphone Apps | Twitter and Facebook

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Manzanares has been a part of his son's life since the day he was born, but he's a stranger to his 4-year-old daughter Kaia. Manzanares says his ex-girlfriend placed Kaia with an adoptive family without his consent.

“About 3 months into the pregnancy, she determined she needed to end the relationship with me. And that's when the conversation of adoption occurred,” said Manzanares.

Manzanares says he was against giving his daughter up and told his ex-girlfriend, Carie Terry. that he would take responsibility of raising the girl his own.

“She tried to get the Family Services in Colorado involved to try to work with us and try to get me to meet with them. I kept telling them, no, no, no,” said Manzanares.

Manzanares, who isn't LDS, claims her Mormon bishop encouraged them to give up their parental rights and place the child with a Mormon family.

Although the couple broke up, Manzanares said he continued to pay for child support and offered to take her to doctor appointments.

“Obviously, she cut me off,” Mazanares says.

He says that began the legal process.

“I filed for paternity action in Colorado along with an injunction to adoption because I had this fear that she was going to adopt this child either way in the state of Colorado,” Manzanares said.

While the two were waiting for a scheduled court hearing, Terry told Manzanares she was going to Utah to visit her sick father. But adoption records in Utah lay out a different story. Terry had the baby prematurely in Utah and finalized the adoption, giving the baby to her brother and his wife, leaving Robert unaware.

“She had given her consent to the adoption the same day of the Colorado hearing. Actually, it was parallel meetings that happened within minutes of each other,” he said.

Robert then launched a legal battle, both in Utah and Colorado. His attorney warned him it wouldn't be easy and that Utah laws make it tough for unwed fathers.

“A law on its face may have a good objective, but here it's taken a turn for the worse and here they're providing a safe harbor for mothers to flee to Utah to give birth to their child and not have the dad to consent to an adoption,” said adoption attorney John Hedrick.

Manzanares filed for paternity in Utah, but a district judge upheld the adoption. The Utah Supreme Court took the case and on Jan. 27 of this year, they reversed that decision sending it back to district court. It was a ruling favoring a biological father, the first time in Utah’s history and what some call groundbreaking.

Carrie Terry declined an interview with FOX 13, but released a statement that says in part:

Vilification of the circumstances and the people involved will not help the child, who most benefits most from adoption. It is my hope that in future legal proceedings and in the attention given to this case, the focus will be on what is best for the child and her needs.

Utah's adoption law is supposed to balance the interests of the state, mother, biological father, infant and adoptive parents. The rights of biological fathers are an issue being taken up at the Capitol during the current legislative session.

Tune in...

Tune in to The Anderson Cooper Show on Thursday at 4:00 PM MST.

Anderson Cooper

Utah Adoption Council

Do you live in Utah? Do you want to see reform with the Utah Adoption Laws?

If you answered yes, please join the Utah Adoption Council. 

History of the Council
The Utah Adoption Council was formed in 1981 by area adoption agencies to help lighten the load of the foster care system by advocating positive, permanent homes and families for foster children.  The initial goals of the Council were to educate the community about adoption and promote awareness and understanding.

The Utah Adoption Council has expanded to include birth parents, adoptive parents, adoptees, adoption agencies, adoption attorneys and community support groups.  The Council is governed by an Executive Committee with a representative birth parent, adoptive parent, adoptee and agency representative.

The committee meets on a monthly basis on the 2nd Tuesday of every month starting at 9:00 AM. The location varies, but usually downtown. In order to have a vote in the position of the committee you must attend 50% of the meetings throughout the year and pay a $25 annual fee.

This committee has a lot of strong advocates for adoption that don't see a need for reform for the adoption laws because it benefits their pocketbook if no change is made. This is a great place to have a positive change occur. To register online or for more information please go to utahadoptioncouncil.com.

We look forward to seeing more people involved.

HB308

This past week has been very exciting for progress in finally changing the adoption laws in the state of Utah regarding unwed father's rights. Although, HB308 didn't ultimately fix every problem with the current law, it was a great step to show the legislative that there is major problem with the current law. On Monday, the committee over HB308 decided to put a hold on the bill until Thursday to give more time to research some questions that were brought up.

On Thursday, the courtroom was full of emotional testimony and truly showed the major flaws that are currently in the adoption laws. I will be posting videos of testimony from David Hardy, Jenny Graham, Dan Deuel, Lisa Harris, Donna Pope, and a few others.

The committee voted 5-3 that this bill needs to be put on hold until the Summer to get more of the major kinks worked out. They saw the great need for reform and wanted to get it right, not just put a bill into place that wouldn't truly solve the problem at hand.

Although, this bill was a step in the right direction it ultimately still did not take fraud out of the law. We have been working with Wes Hutchins, President of the Utah Adoption Council, as well as the sponsor of this bill Christine Watkins of Price, to suggest ways we can make this bill truly effective to protect father's rights.

Wes Hutchins, an adoptive father, and an adoption attorney, has become a strong advocate for us in helping get the laws changed. He will be on the radio on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 9:00 AM on radio station KCPW, NPR 88.3 FM, 105.3 FM. He will be talking about the bill, adoption reform, the ruling on the Robert Manzanares Case, etc. Please tune in or call in to discuss this topic.

Thank you again for all of your support. We are making a difference!

We need your help!

Thank you so much for all of your support with getting our sweet little baby Jackson Michael Strickland back. Thank you for signing the petition and spreading the word on many blogs, facebook pages, twitter, etc. We have had many people ask how they can help and this is how you can. You can help change the Utah adoption laws.  House Bill 308 represented by Christine Watkins is revising the current adoption laws for unwed father's. There is a hearing tomorrow, Feb. 9th 2012, at the Utah State Capitol builidng at 4:00 PM. We need people to flood the court room in support of this bill passing. Although, this bill will not help with getting our sweet little Jack back, it will help future father's and families not have to deal with the heartache we have endure the past year. The hearing will be located in the Northwest building, the house building, in room 25W.

We can not thank you enough for how much this support will mean to us and all of the unwed father's out there.

Thank you and God Bless!

The Strickland Family

Dueling Adoption Bills

The attempt at changing the adoption laws is great, but they really aren't addressing the real issue here. FRAUD is allowed in a law with children. There will be a hearing today at Utah State Capitol builidng at 2:00 PM. Be there if you can.

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Dueling bills address giving unwed fathers notice of adoption

Full Story at SLtrib

Legislation • Pair take different approaches to notify men of Utah adoption proceedings.

By Brooke Adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: February 5, 2012 07:01PM
Updated: February 5, 2012 08:27PM

Two lawmakers want to address the rights unwed biological fathers have in an adoption proceeding, but with notably different approaches.

SB55, sponsored by Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, says a birth mother, adoption agency or attorneys involved may send a “prebirth notice” to any presumed father informing him of a potential adoption proceeding in Utah. HB308, sponsored by Rep. Christine Watkins, D-Price, would require such notices, but only to out-of-state fathers.

Each bill gives the father 30 days to respond to the notice by acting to protect his rights in Utah; failure to respond in that time period would extinguish any right to object to the adoption. Watkins’ bill would eliminate the need for a father to take court action before he can file with the state’s Putative Father Registry, while Weiler’s bill would keep in place the current requirement that an unwed father file a paternity action in court before he can file with the registry. He must do both to be entitled to notice under Utah’s current adoption law.

The House Health and Human Services Committee will consider HB308 Monday at 2 p.m.

Weiler said recent Utah Supreme Court decisions, including a Jan. 27 ruling in favor of a Colorado father’s right to intervene in an adoption, have “highlighted” the lack of a notice provision in Utah’s statute.

“This bill will address that public outcry we’ve been hearing,” said Weiler, an attorney who has handled more than 50 adoption cases, including some involving unmarried biological fathers. “I think this strikes a good balance between the various interests at stake.”

Weiler’s bill also adds that an unwed father has “at least” one business day after a child’s birth to act to protect his rights, language aimed at addressing a 2007 Utah Supreme Court decision that found it was unconstitutional to not allow extra time when a birth occurs on a weekend or holiday.

Weiler’s bill was crafted with help from attorney Larry Jenkins, chairman of the Utah Adoption Council’s standards and practice committee. Jenkins, who is being sued by a Virginia father who alleges a vast conspiracy exists in Utah to take children from unwed biological fathers, was unavailable for immediate comment Friday.

But attorney David Hardy, the council’s past president, said the industry group approved the “general ideas” in the bill.

“The reason for that is it allows a birth mother to give notice and plan ahead as far as what is going to happen with the child,” Hardy said. “It is something the birth mother may elect to follow, but she can say, ‘I don’t want to.’ It’s not mandatory.”

The notice provision would have no effect on an unwed father’s responsibility to independently register and begin a paternity action to protect his rights before a mother gives birth.

Hardy said Weiler’s proposal is modeled after adoption laws in Arizona and Indiana.

“We understand from adoption practitioners in other states it works well,” Hardy said.

But in Arizona, mothers don’t have a choice about notification once an adoption action has been filed with the court. They must then identify potential fathers and inform them they are pursuing an adoption.

Wes Hutchins, an adoption attorney, consulted on Watkins’ bill and believes it is the stronger of the two proposals.

“Absolutely,” said Hutchins, who is the council’s current president but spoke independently of the group. “It does a better job of protecting the rights of out-of-state birth fathers and preventing birth mothers from forum shopping in Utah.”

Weiler’s bill reinforces what’s known as the immunity clause in Utah’s adoption law, which says an unwed father cannot use fraud by the birth mother as a defense for his failure to act. It adds language that says once a birth father receives a notice, his responsibility to act remains intact no matter what the birth mother may tell him.

“If she comes back and says she’s changed her mind, that doesn’t change his responsibility,” Hardy said.

Neither proposed bill states when in the pregnancy the notice to an unwed father should occur, though Hardy noted “it is not something that works late in the pregnancy” since under Utah law a birth mother may irrevocably relinquish her parental rights and consent to an adoption within a day of giving birth. The proposal may conflict with existing law that gives an out-of-state father 20 days to act when he discovers after the fact that his child was born and placed for adoption in Utah.

“That’s an open question we may need to look at,” Hardy said.

brooke@sltrib.com

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© 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune

Dueling bills address giving unwed fathers notice of adoption

By Brooke Adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

Unfortunately

Unfortunately court did not go as we hoped on Tuesday. Judge Christiansen said that this case really disturbed him and even had called up Judge Kay in 2nd District and talked with him about the details of this case. Christiansen stated that since Larry Jenkins, and David Hardy went up to 2nd District behind his back, he no longer had jurisdiction over this case. He said the next step would be to petition the adoption up in 2nd District and try to plead our case to Judge Kay and try to get the adoption set aside. There is a grim reality for us that this is the end of these court actions, and our next step after 2nd District would be to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court. We still are baffled because no one has  ruled yet that Jake DID not file timely even though that has been LDS Family Services argument.

We are still hoping and praying for a positive outcome. We would love more than anything to meet this sweet little boy of ours. There is not a day that goes by that we don't think of Jackson. He is such a special little boy and he will always have a special place in our hearts.

Thank you so much for all of the sweet words of encouragement. It truly helps us get through some of the days.

Jackson, we love you so much. One day, you will get to meet your sweet daddy, and the family that loved you first. We love you always and forever.

Tomorrow

We will be in court tomorrow at 1:30 PM in front of Judge Christiansen. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that he will see the injustice occurring and keep our case alive.

THANK YOU!