Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Family Being Torn Apart
Couple: order sending boy back to birth mom is rife with mistakes
By RON WORDAssociated Press Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A couple who has cared for a 3-year-old boy since his birth said Tuesday that a court order requiring them to return the child to his biological mother in Illinois is filled with inaccuracies.
Dawn and Gene Scott are trying to block the order requiring them to surrender the boy, now known by his birth name Evan Johnson, to Amanda Hopkins, his biological mother. She is now married and lives with her husband and baby on a Navy base in Illinois. The boy is scheduled to permanently move Saturday.
"We are going to use every avenue we can," Dawn Scott said at a news conference Tuesday, pledging to fight to keep custody of the child. "This was an unnecessary move for this child."
A child advocacy group, "Hear My Voice," and the Scotts claim there are seven inaccuracies in state Circuit Judge Waddell Wallace's order granting custody to Hopkins.
The group claims the Scotts did not "expressly promise to return" Evan to the biological mother if the adoption failed.
They also claim Hopkins sought to keep her pregnancy secret from the boy's biological father, Stephen A. White Jr. The Scotts also said they have never attempted to thwart White's rights or prevent Hopkins from visiting Evan.
Hopkins and White never married, and she did not learn she was pregnant until she sought medical treatment for injuries suffered when she was assaulted in the residence they once shared, court documents show.
Hopkins supported the Scotts' adoption of Evan until it appeared the court might grant White's request for custody.
When Hopkins was pregnant with the boy, she met the Scotts and agreed to a private adoption. The Scotts watched Evan's birth in May 2001, and he was placed with the Scotts two days later.
The adoption was supposed to become final in August 2001, but a month before that, White filed a motion demanding immediate custody. The Scotts claimed White should not be able to block the adoption, but a judge disagreed.
Garrett Barket, an attorney representing White, the boy's biological father, said the judge acted appropriately in ordering the child to return to his biological mother.
"We feel they judge was correct in his findings of fact and his rulings of law," Barket said.
He said he wouldn't be surprised by another court filing by the Scotts.
Hopkins' attorney Elaine Lucas had no comment.
While giving Hopkins custody, Wallace ordered that White be given liberal visitation rights. The boy took a trip to his new home earlier this month before returning to his Atlantic Beach home before making the final move.
The Scotts have appealed a judge's ruling which removed their standing to challenge the boy's custody.
On Tuesday, their lawyer, Susan Pniewski said she is considering a federal lawsuit.
"The federal suit, if it comes to fruition, will allege a violation of the child's constitutional rights and also a violation of the Scott's constitutional rights." She could not say when the suit might be filed.
Phil's Observations
Man & Woman get pregnant. Man beats woman. Woman doesn't tell man she's pregnant with his child. Women gives up child in adoption. Man wants kid. Judge gives kid to mom. Kid is raised by loving couple for three years. Kid knows his adoptive parents as "mommy" and "daddy". What a frickin mess. Man should die. Woman should die. Kid should be raised by the only parents he knows ... you know, the ones that wanted him since birth.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Not all adults are ready to be parents, at least responsible ones.
By RON WORDAssociated Press Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A couple who has cared for a 3-year-old boy since his birth said Tuesday that a court order requiring them to return the child to his biological mother in Illinois is filled with inaccuracies.
Dawn and Gene Scott are trying to block the order requiring them to surrender the boy, now known by his birth name Evan Johnson, to Amanda Hopkins, his biological mother. She is now married and lives with her husband and baby on a Navy base in Illinois. The boy is scheduled to permanently move Saturday.
"We are going to use every avenue we can," Dawn Scott said at a news conference Tuesday, pledging to fight to keep custody of the child. "This was an unnecessary move for this child."
A child advocacy group, "Hear My Voice," and the Scotts claim there are seven inaccuracies in state Circuit Judge Waddell Wallace's order granting custody to Hopkins.
The group claims the Scotts did not "expressly promise to return" Evan to the biological mother if the adoption failed.
They also claim Hopkins sought to keep her pregnancy secret from the boy's biological father, Stephen A. White Jr. The Scotts also said they have never attempted to thwart White's rights or prevent Hopkins from visiting Evan.
Hopkins and White never married, and she did not learn she was pregnant until she sought medical treatment for injuries suffered when she was assaulted in the residence they once shared, court documents show.
Hopkins supported the Scotts' adoption of Evan until it appeared the court might grant White's request for custody.
When Hopkins was pregnant with the boy, she met the Scotts and agreed to a private adoption. The Scotts watched Evan's birth in May 2001, and he was placed with the Scotts two days later.
The adoption was supposed to become final in August 2001, but a month before that, White filed a motion demanding immediate custody. The Scotts claimed White should not be able to block the adoption, but a judge disagreed.
Garrett Barket, an attorney representing White, the boy's biological father, said the judge acted appropriately in ordering the child to return to his biological mother.
"We feel they judge was correct in his findings of fact and his rulings of law," Barket said.
He said he wouldn't be surprised by another court filing by the Scotts.
Hopkins' attorney Elaine Lucas had no comment.
While giving Hopkins custody, Wallace ordered that White be given liberal visitation rights. The boy took a trip to his new home earlier this month before returning to his Atlantic Beach home before making the final move.
The Scotts have appealed a judge's ruling which removed their standing to challenge the boy's custody.
On Tuesday, their lawyer, Susan Pniewski said she is considering a federal lawsuit.
"The federal suit, if it comes to fruition, will allege a violation of the child's constitutional rights and also a violation of the Scott's constitutional rights." She could not say when the suit might be filed.
Phil's Observations
Man & Woman get pregnant. Man beats woman. Woman doesn't tell man she's pregnant with his child. Women gives up child in adoption. Man wants kid. Judge gives kid to mom. Kid is raised by loving couple for three years. Kid knows his adoptive parents as "mommy" and "daddy". What a frickin mess. Man should die. Woman should die. Kid should be raised by the only parents he knows ... you know, the ones that wanted him since birth.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Not all adults are ready to be parents, at least responsible ones.
Kicknit 1/11/2005