In a decision with broad ramifications for nontraditional families, Maryland's highest court ruled yesterday in favor of an adoptive mother who is seeking to deny her former partner visitation rights to a child that both had cared for during their relationship.
The case deals with a lesbian couple, but it could affect step-parents and people in other kinds of relationships who have taken on parental roles but do not have biological or adoptive ties to a child. The Maryland Court of Appeals said that "de facto parenthood" is not recognized in Maryland and found that "exceptional" circumstances or a finding that a parent is unfit would be needed to overcome a legal parent's right to the care, control and custody of a child.
In response to the ruling, advocacy groups said they plan to seek legislation next year in Maryland's General Assembly to recognize de facto parents. Meanwhile, family court lawyers predicted that people who have won visitation based on a previous lower-court decision might now have to go back to court and face a tougher legal fight.
"This decision leaves thousands of children and families unnecessarily vulnerable and will undoubtedly end up denying children the love and support of a parent who has been a significant part of their life," said David Rocah, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, who filed a friend-of-the-court brief siding with the partner. "The Court of Appeals has gone against the modern trend, though it's certainly not alone in this regard."
Courts nationwide have been wrestling with cases that have the potential to legally redefine family ties outside of traditional marriage. State by state, the laws governing families can vary greatly, and court cases are constantly changing the legal landscape as gay and lesbian couples and unmarried heterosexual households increasingly have children and petition courts to settle disputes.
Groups that promote traditional marriage have argued that courts should not micromanage parents' decisions regarding their children. Mathew Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative national legal group that has filed briefs in similar cases, said that allowing third parties legal rights to a child can be "confusing and damaging."
"These kinds of cases pose a significant threat to parental rights," said Staver, who is dean of the law school at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. "And they can create a huge web of conflict when you may have two parents who divorce and then one person lives with another person and they end up with parental rights."
