North Carolina Appeals Court Affirms Joint Custody Award to Former Lesbian Partner
The Leonard Link blog has this post that begins:
In a case of first impression for North Carolina, on May 6 the state’s court of appeals upheld a decision by Durham County District Judge Ann McKown to award joint custody of a child to Joellen Mason and Irene Dwinnell, former lesbian partners. McKown found that Dwinnell, the birth mother of a boy conceived through anonymous donor insemination, had willingly created a de facto parent status for Mason that she could not unilaterally dissolve when the women ended their partnership. Mason v. Dwinnell, 2008 Westlaw 1944823 . . .