Two Baltimore County judges have delayed ruling in a child- custody case that has forced a 7-year-old girl to spend time with her adoptive mother’s former lesbian partner, despite objections from a court-appointed child-welfare specialist.
A social worker for Baltimore County Circuit Court reported in August that the ex-partner’s overnight visits with the girl “probably caused acute underlying turmoil” for the child, according to court records.
“At this time, she seems emotionally vulnerable and experiencing severe anxiety in response to the crisis that this dispute has precipitated,” social worker Cheryl Taylor says in the report. “Overnight weekend visits seem to pose particular separation threats and anxiety for [the girl] at this time.”
The report remains sealed, but excerpts of Miss Taylor’s findings are cited elsewhere in the court record.
Miss Taylor notes that the girl told everybody involved in the case — including her mother, her mother’s former partner and the family pediatrician — that she does not want the visits to continue. The social worker also has recommended that the child “remain in long-term psychotherapy.”
Still, two successive judges presiding over the case have delayed ruling on the emergency request by the mother, identified as Janice M., to stop the court-ordered visitation.
Judge John O. Hennegan put off ruling on the mother’s request in August. The case last month was transferred to Judge Michael J. Finifter, who scheduled a hearing for Jan. 28.
The Washington Times is withholding the full names of Janice M. and her former lesbian partner, Margaret K., to protect the identity of the girl, who was adopted from an orphanage in India in 2000 by Janice M.
Both women declined to be interviewed for this report.
“The little girl doesn’t even know what a lesbian is,” said Susie Banks, 49, whose 7-year-old daughter is best friends with Janice M.’s daughter. “She has no clue why this woman is doing this to her. … She wrote a note to her mother last Christmas saying she wants a dad and a dog.”
Mrs. Banks, a homemaker from Ellicott City, has appeared as a witness for Janice M.
Margaret K., who was Janice M.’s live-in girlfriend from 1987 until 2004, won visitation rights to Janice M.’s adoptive daughter in a court ruling in February.
The ruling, which denied Margaret K. custody of the girl but required that she have visitation with the child every Wednesday and every other weekend, was upheld this month in a decision by the Court of Special Appeals.
The courts found that Margaret K. is the child’s de facto parent.
Homosexual rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union have rallied behind Margaret K.
The case also has energized proponents of same-sex “marriage” who say that issues of child custody and visitation would be resolved more easily if homosexual unions were legally recognized.
In January, a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge ruled that the state’s 33-year-old ban on same-sex “marriage” is unconstitutional. The case will be argued next month in Maryland’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
Dan Furmansky, executive director of the homosexual rights group Equality Maryland, said he was pleased that Margaret K.’s case was being judged solely on the basis of what was in the best interest of Janice M.’s daughter.
“Sexual orientation has no bearing on the ability to take care of a child,” Mr. Furmansky said. “Our position is that every case should be decided individually, and the best interest of the child is what would be determined.”
The social worker’s report also cites a report by the girl’s pediatrician who “did not see anything beneficial about forcing the visits,” according to court records.
Margaret K.’s attorney, Jennifer S. Fairfax, challenged Miss Taylor’s conclusions.
“Ms. Taylor’s ultimate findings are remarkably inconsistent with her specific and detailed findings, particularly her findings with regard to what [Margaret K.] has to offer” the child, she said in correspondence to the court.
She cited Miss Taylor’s findings in the report that Margaret K. is “a loving, caring, positive and important influence on [the girl’s] life and under less stressful conditions could be an appropriate parent care-giver to the child.”
Miss Fairfax noted that the report says Margaret K. “puts [the girl’s] needs above her own” and should remain an “extremely constant and steady influence in [the girl’s] life.”
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