Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Motion/Petition Route

Well, it's been a while since I've posted I see. In the past few months I've started taking a different tack (beyond volunteer and paid searchers) and decided to try the legal route. I've hired an attorney in the State of Ohio to file a petition on my behalf to obtain my original birth certificate. Among the arguments the legal firm is considering are:
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • Equal treatment under the law
  • Citing that the contract to seal the record was between the birth parent, adoptive parent and the state and that this leaves out one critical party: ME, the adoptee
  • Common law practice in the modern era is to assume the records are open unless the birth parent requests them be sealed, so as a consequence, the 1964-1996 laws are out-of-step with common public policy of the present.
I've also drafted a personal appeal letter to the judge to personalize/humanize the package we give the judge.

In the county where my adoption took place, I have the interesting issue of dealing with an interim judge because the primary/former judge has recently retired. After doing some research on the interim judge, I find that he seems rather conservative in his views and since he'll only be serving through the end of September, I've decided to wait and take my chances on the more permanent judge who'll be appointed to replace the temporary one.

I sincerely hope the birth parents and truth that I seek won't be lost to a death that occurs in the next few months. That would be quite hard to acknowledge - particularly if my not waiting might have gotten me closer to the answers I've always sought.

I fantasize also that, if this petition succeeds, it might help lay additional precedent for the state to acknowledge how antiquated and unjust the 1964-1996 law is. I guess we'll see. My hopes aren't very high, but for the roughly $600 it's costing me, I figure it's worth a try.