Decision of California Court of Appeal and how it Affects You and Your Family By Kate Kendell, Esq., Executive Director National Center for Lesbian Rights On October 25, 2001, the Fourth District Court of Appeals (San Diego) issued an opinion in the case of Sharon S. v. Superior Court. The case began when Sharon's partner, Annette, filed a petition for second-parent adoption of their son. The parties broke up just before the adoption was finalized, and Sharon attempted to withdraw her consent to the adoption. When the court refused to dismiss the adoption petition, Sharon appealed to the California Court of Appeals. On appeal, the Fourth District decided not only that Annette could not proceed with her petition, but also suggested that second-parent adoptions are not valid in California. If you want to read the full text of the court's opinion, you can download it from: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions: D037871A.PDF or D037871A.DOC. There is a strong dissent, meaning that one of the three judges on the panel disagreed with the ruling and wrote his own opinion about why he disagreed. The dissent will provide support in a request for the California Supreme Courtto review the case. The most important thing for you to know right now is that if you have a second-parent adoption in California you are still a legal parent. The court's ruling is not final and will not go into effect until all appeals are exhausted. We fully expect, given the radical and unprecedented effect of the decision, that it will be modified or reversed. Moreover, we are also pursuing potential legislative options to override the ruling. In other words, there is no reason to panic. Believe me, as a parent through the procedure of second-parent adoption myself I understand the concern and anxiety this ruling hasgenerated. We at NCLR are committed to assuring that the retroactive application of this decision never becomes the law. This is why we are here and why we count on your support. We will continue to update you as this case and our efforts develop. Yours in struggle, Kate
	National Center for Lesbian Rights - Copyright © 2001 NCLR
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