Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Michigan judge stays in second parent adoption hearings
A story released today by the Detroit Free Press reports that Washtenaw County Chief Judge Archie Brown refused Monday to remove himself from hearing adoption petitions from unwed couples and denied that state Supreme Court Chief Justice Maura Corrigan ordered him to end the practice.
In addition, Brown refused to reassign the cases to Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Donald Shelton. Shelton, who was assigned to the cases, has said he would not follow Brown's June 4 order to halt the adoptions because they violated state law.
Brown then reassigned the nine pending adoption cases, known as second-parent adoptions, to himself.
Brown denied any bias in the cases and said he had the authority to reassign the cases to himself. Brown denied being ordered by Corrigan to end the second-parent adoptions but acknowledged that she and other judges contacted him.
Shelton questioned Brown's action of reassigning only the second parent adoption case to himself.
"Never in the history of Michigan law has it been held or even suggested that an administratively appointed chief judge has the authority to reassign specific cases . . . just because he has an interpretation of the law that differs from that of the duly assigned judge," Shelton said in a statement.
"Reassigning cases to influence the outcome would be a violation of fundamental due process," Shelton said.
Brown said in his ruling that as chief judge he has "superintending power" over judges to "effect compliance with all court rules and the law."
