10th Circuit: Oklahoma Statute Prohibiting Recognition of California Adoptions by Same Sex Couples is Unconstitutional
The AP reports on Friday’s ruling in Finstuen v. Crutcher, No. 06-6213 (10th Cir. August 3, 2007). Oklahoma amended its statute to prohibit recognition of foreign same sex adoptions. The relevant statute provides:
§ 7502-1.4. Foreign adoptions
A. The courts of this state shall recognize a decree, judgment, or final order creating the relationship of parent and child by adoption, issued by a court or other governmental authority with appropriate jurisdiction in a foreign country or in another state or territory of the United States.
The rights and obligations of the parties as to matters within the jurisdiction of this state shall be determined as though the decree, judgment, or final order were issued by a court of this state. Except that, this state, any of its agencies, or any court of this state shall not recognize an adoption by more than one individual of the same sex from any other state or foreign jurisdiction. Okla. Stat. tit. 10, § 7502-1.4(A) (the “adoption amendment”).
After having adopted in California, Plaintiffs challenged the last sentence in this statute that prohibits recognition of adoptions by same sex couples. A 10th circuit panel held:
We hold today that final adoption orders and decrees are judgments that are entitled to recognition by all other states under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Therefore, Oklahoma’s adoption amendment is unconstitutional in its refusal to recognize final adoption orders of other states that permit adoption by same-sex couples. Because we affirm the district court on this basis, we do not reach the issues of whether the adoption amendment infringes on the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses.
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