Virginia Supreme Court Allows Fraudulent Adoption to Stand
The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a U.S. Marine and his wife may keep an Afghan orphan they brought to the United States. This decision concludes a protracted legal dispute over the child’s custody, reversing lower court rulings that had deemed the adoption invalid. The court’s majority opinion cited a Virginia law that bars challenges to adoption orders after six months, emphasizing the law’s purpose of ensuring a child’s stability. Dissenting justices, however, strongly criticized the ruling, deeming the adoption process flawed and the outcome unjust.
John Q. Hosedrinker