Legal Challenges
On December 1, 1998, a group of birth mothers, represented by attorney Franklin Hunsaker, filed a lawsuit to seek an injunction. Marion County Oregon circuit court judge Albin W. Norblad granted an injunction halting the implementation of Measure 58. Judge Norblad later recused himself from the case and was replaced by Judge Paul Lipscomb.
In his decision, Judge Lipscomb upheld Measure 58, ruling the Oregon Constitution held no promise of secrecy to women who gave their children up for adoption. "Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate either any contractual right to absolute privacy or confidentiality, or any impermissible impairment of any such rights."
The Oregon Court of Appeals issued a temporary injunction on July 30, 1999. A deadline of August 4 was set for oral arguments in the case. On August 13, the court issued another 90-day stay while it reviewed a constitutional challenge. Yet another stay was granted on September 7, 1999 extending through January 31, 2000.
Oral arguments were heard on November 22, 1999 before the Oregon Court of Appeals, which on December 29 upheld the lower court's decision regarding access to adoptees birth records.
The court of appeals again issued a seven-day stay on December 30, 1999, to allow the plaintiffs to file an emergency appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. On January 6, 2000, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the emergency stay would continue indefinitely. The court declined to hear the case without comment on March 20, 2000 and continued a 21-day stay to give the birth mothers a chance to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. The stays were granted four more times, postponing implementation until May 30, 2000.
In the final two legal battles over Measure 58, the birth mothers were denied a motion to reconsider by the Oregon Supreme Court on May 16, 2000. Also on May 23, 2000 the Oregon Supreme Court refused to extend the stay against the new law. The legal battle ended on May 30, 2000, when Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor denied a request for a stay.
Read more about this topic: Oregon Ballot Measure 58 (1998)
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