Supreme Court Temporarily Reinstates Alabama Lesbian's Voided Adoption

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday granted an Alabama woman's request to temporarily reinstate her legal adoption of the her former partner's children, while the high court considers whether it will review the ruling in its entirety.

BuzzFeed News's Chris Geidner reports that the Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will ultimately grant a review of the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling, which declared the woman's adoption void, but did approve the woman's request to place a stay on that state court ruling while the nine Supreme Court justices decide whether to take the case. 

Geidner offered a brief summary of the case he called "complex," noting that the initial request for a stay was filed in November, after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in September that the woman's adoption of her former partner's children was "void." 

Geidner explains: 

"[The suit involves] a lesbian couple in Alabama [who] went to Georgia in 2007 so that one of those women, referred to as V.L. in court filings, could adopt the children of E.L.

"Years later, when E.L. and V.L’s relationship ended, V.L. sued in Alabama to have the adoption decree enforced for visitation and other parental purposes. Although a lower court sided with V.L., the Alabama Supreme Court ruled otherwise in September of this year, holding that the Georgia adoption was “void” because, the Alabama court maintained, it should not have been allowed under Georgia law.

"V.L. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision and to put it on hold, in order to allow her visitation, while the high court decides what to do. Notably, the guardian ad litem — the representative of the children’s interests in the litigation — also weighed in at the U.S. Supreme Court, siding with V.L. and also asking for a stay."

 

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