CLARK COUNTY —
The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request to reconsider its ruling that has resulted in a Sellersburg couple being ordered to return a nearly 3-year-old child they have raised since birth to his biological father.
The court further lifted a stay on all lower court proceedings that it granted on Sept. 28, allowing Christy and Jason Vaughn to temporarily keep custody of their son, Grayson.
In September, a juvenile court in Ohio ordered Grayson be returned to his biological father, Benjamin Wyrembek, in Swanton, Ohio, after it had determined he was legally the father. The Supreme Court had granted a stay on that order and all other lower court decisions on Sept. 28, but the state’s high court lifted that ban Thursday meaning the order is again in effect.
The Vaughns went through an adoption agency and were matched with Grayson. The mother and her ex-husband, his legal father at the time under Ohio law, agreed to give Grayson up for adoption as they were going through a divorce.
The Vaughns had Grayson from the day he was born, but within 30 days after the birth, Wyrembek registered with the Putative Father Registry that he might be the father and then filed a paternity action. The adoption had not been finalized and Wyrembek was later determined to be the biological father, setting off years of legal battles.
An Ohio probate court dismissed the Vaughns’ adoption petition, and in July, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld that ruling in a 4-3 decision.
The opinion issued on Thursday explained the reason for denying a request for reconsideration.
“The issue dividing our court is whether for purposes of the statutory consent requirement, the status of the father can change — from putative to biological — after the petition for adoption is filed or whether that status is fixed as of the date petitioner files the adoption petition. This seems to me to be settled by our case authority,” Justice Terrence O’Donnell wrote in the decision Thursday.
The distinction is key because the adoptive parents claim Wyrembek did not support the mother or child as required by state statute for a putative father. The Supreme Court determined that, under the way Ohio laws are written, a biological father has no duty to care for and support a minor during pregnancy or up until the time of placement for purposes of consenting to adoption. Wyrembek was initially declared the putative father before being determined as the biological father.
O’Donnell further encouraged juvenile courts to move quickly with parentage cases and asked the Ohio General Assembly to revisit its statutes to clarify its intent if contrary to their result.
Messages left for attorneys on both sides of the case were not returned on Thursday.
The Vaughns had previously defied a court order to return Grayson to Ohio. There was a hearing in Floyd County Circuit Court on Sept. 28 in which Judge J. Terrence Cody had been expected to enforce the Ohio court’s order, but then the Supreme Court intervened granting the stay. The Vaughns signed a statement at that hearing that they would no longer discuss the case in the media.
Jason Vaughn had previously said there could be other avenues to fight for Grayson even if the Supreme Court decided against them. He has also asked for a transition plan if they are forced to give up Grayson.
Friends of the family have indicated that both parties agreed to mediation at the Circuit Court hearing.
Supporters of the Vaughns have set up a petition in favor of a “best interest” hearing before custody changes hands. Nearly 1,500 people had signed the petition as of Thursday afternoon. A Facebook page run by the Vaughns’ supporters called “Keeping Grayson HOME” is liked by more than 6,400 people.
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Ohio Supreme Court will not reconsider Vaughn adoption decision
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