Stardate 20020524.1712

(On Screen): Remember the "Internet Twins"? A woman from Missouri decided to place her twin babies (for a fee) through an internet broker and they were given to a couple in LA. She then asked for permission to visit them, and instead whisked them away and gave them away again, also for a fee, only this time to a couple from Wales. They adopted the babies in Arkansas and then took them to the UK.

Turns out no-one involved in this was a prize. The man in California was later indicted for molesting a baby sitter. The wife from Wales has been cited for shoplifting. After giving the babies away twice for adoption, the biological mother announced that she wanted them after all. Then the true father turned up and asked for custody.

Courts in California, Arkansas and the UK eventually all decided that Missouri had jurisdiction, and both of the couples who attempted to adopt the babies gave up their claims. Under California law, a parent who gives up a child can decide not to within 90 days, and if so the adoption is void. That seems to have happened, so the California adoption is gone. As to the Arkansas adoption, no-one involved seems to have established Arkansas residency (by living in the state for 30 days) so that adoption is also void. So it ended up in Missouri family court, with responsibility to make a fairly straightforward decision about which parent would get them.

This is the kind of case where judges really earn their pay. The biological mother has proved that can't be trusted. There's absolutely no way to know what in hell she'd do if she got them back; she might try to sell them a third time. On the other hand, there were whispers that the father was also no prize. I won't go into details.

The court in Missouri has decided to award custody to... (the envelope please) nobody. The judge decided that it is in the best interests of the children for them to remain in foster care in custody of the state. And quite frankly, based on what I've read about everyone involved in this, I think the court is right.

But it's unfortunately that it took more than a year to finally get this straightened out. Sometimes the wheels of justice grind too slowly.