Wednesday, August 25, 1999
Jurisdiction argued in Justin hearing
Ohio appeals court hears custody case
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
JEFFERSON, Ohio — If two Kentucky parents signed documents to terminate their parental rights, should Kentucky or another state determine the validity of the documents?
This was the heart of questions posed Tuesday by a three-judge panel of the Ohio Court of Appeals, which has been asked to take a position in the two-state custody battle over a 2-year-old boy named Justin.
The appellate judges promise to rule within weeks as to which state should hear Justin's case — Kentucky, the home of his biological parents, Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning of Covington, or Ohio, where Justin lives with Rich and Cheryl Asente, who want to adopt him.
The Girard, Ohio, couple already have legally adopted Justin's full biological brother, Joey, 3.
Attorneys for both sets of parents have said a loss at Ohio's appeals-court level guarantees they'll put the case before the Ohio Supreme Court and perhaps in the federal arena.
“We just want the best for Justin,” said Mr. Asente after Tuesday's 45-minute hearing. “We'll do what we have to to get that. We'll keep fighting.”
Mr. Dorning and Ms. Moore refused to comment.
“I think it's a private matter, and it should stay private,” Ms. Moore said.
Appellate Judge Robert Nader noted that both couples had agreed that the biological parents would sign consents and later go through a hearing to terminate their parental rights.
The judge also noted that the Asentes had signed a legal risk statement, indicating that they understood any adoption of Justin was at risk until Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning's parental rights were terminated.
According to court documents, an attorney the Asentes hired handled the paperwork and proceedings.
“All parties agreed to it,” Judge Nader said.
Susan Eisenman of Columbus, the Asentes' attorney, stressed that the consents that the biological parents signed in January 1998 were irrevocable after 20 days and, once that time passed, parental rights were terminated and Ohio became the proper venue for Justin's case. Passing of the 20 days, she said, also provided a green light for Justin's adoption proceedings in Ohio.
The hearing to terminate parental rights was scheduled for late March, well beyond the 20-day mark.
Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning made it known on the day of that hearing that they wanted Justin back. When the Asentes kept the child, the biological parents began fighting for his return and, in August 1998, filed a civil lawsuit to have him returned to them.
As a result, Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe invalidated the consents. She said Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning signed them with a distinct understanding that they would have until March to change their minds.
The Asentes have a pending appeal against her decision filed in the Kentucky Supreme Court. An opinion could be released Thursday.
In April, an Ohio judge kept Asentes' adoption petition alive. He said Ohio has jurisdiction of Justin's case and refused to give “full faith and credit” to rulings in Kentucky.
After hearing arguments Tuesday, appellate judge Judith A. Christley said she hoped she and her fellow judges would be “graced with the wisdom of Solomon” when deciding on jurisdiction of the case.
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