The Colorado Court of Appeals has made original birth certificates and adoption records available to Colorado adoptees whose adoptions were finalized between July 1, 1951 and July 1, 1967. The mandate, issued May 25, 2009, reversed an order that would have required 44 year old Jeff Hannasch to hire a court-appointed Confidential Intermediary (CI) to obtain records.

 
LANDMARK APPEALS COURT RULING OPENS ADOPTEE'S RECORDS

(Denver, CO) In the first published case of its kind in 60 years, the Colorado Court of appeals has made original birth certificates and adoption records available to Colorado adoptees whose adoptions were finalized between July 1, 1951 and July 1, 1967. The mandate, issued May 25, 2009, reversed an order from Judge David Shakes of the El Paso County District Court that would have required 44 year old Jeff Hannasch (named on court documents as "J.N.H." aka "B.B.M., a Child") to hire a court-appointed Confidential Intermediary (CI) to obtain his records.

Because the Court published the case, it is considered binding on every jurisdiction in the state. “We hope this opinion helps many more Colorado adoptees obtain their original birth certificates and adoption records,” said Marcy Glenn, partner with Holland & Hart, LLP, the firm which represented Hannasch in his appeal. Attorney Susan Combs drafted the winning appellate brief.

"Most people don't realize that in Colorado, thousands of adult adoptees aren't allowed to obtain copies of their original birth certificates," Hannasch said. "Non-adopted people do it every day with their driver's license and $15. Adult adoptees need a court order and $40."

At the outset of his quest, Hannasch contacted 57 attorneys, and found only one who even understood what he was trying to do. That lawyer told him he'd be glad to represent him at $250 per hour, but he was sure to lose. So Hannasch enlisted the help of volunteer group Adoptees in Search/Colorado's Triad Connection (AIS/CTC) and decided to represent himself in the lower court. "It was all very discouraging and confusing. I was treated as if I was doing something wrong by everyone from the receptionist to the judge. My case wasn't even assigned a number until the Court of Appeals got involved."

"Jeff's situation is far from unique," said Rich Uhrlaub, AIS/CTC Co- director. "Certain courts make it very difficult for adult adoptees to obtain the record of their birth identities. This case law is historic." The lower court ruled that although Hannasch, a husband and father of two, already had his Final Decree of Adoption which included his birth mother's maiden name, he needed parental consent via a third party to obtain his original birth certificate and other adoption records.

“This made no sense to me at all," Hannasch said. "Why should I have to spend $875 for an intermediary when I already knew the names of half my birth family?” After a review of Colorado's legislative history, the Court of Appeals agreed, describing the lower court's interpretation of the law as producing an "absurd result."

Angie Keane, 2008 President of the Denver Women's Press Club, commented on the case in light of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotamayor's controversial statement about how policy is made in the Court of Appeals. "In this case, it has been the lower courts making policy for decades. The Appeals Court finally got a chance to bring things back in line with the original legislative intent. They ruled that adoption records were confidential from the public -- not the parties to the adoption." Keane, who surrendered her daughter in 1972, now has a positive bond with her daughter and her adoptive family.

Lack of access to medical history is a serious concern for some adopted persons. "Knowing my family medical history might have changed the course of my son's treatment," said Deborah Bort. After years of inconclusive tests, she recently discovered that she and her 13 year old son, Cody, both suffer from Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily. Limited information given to her adoptive parents at the time of the adoption said that both her birth parents were healthy. In 2000, Bort sought access to her adoption records from the Arapahoe County Court. Her petition was denied and she was directed to apply for a Confidential Intermediary.

"We were buried in medical bills, and didn’t have the resources to hire an intermediary, let alone a lawyer," Bort said. "There are documented cases in which people have been charged with child abuse and had their children taken away because they had so many broken bones and were undiagnosed. We'll never know if it could have made a difference, but at least our fate would have been in our own hands."

In what some view as an adoption “synchronicity,” the opinion was published within a week of the new iTunes and youbloom.com release of I’m Legit, written and performed by rap legend Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, and British alternative rocker Zara Phillips. Both artists are adoptees. The song is a mixture of Phillips’ evocative voice asking her birth mother if she remembers her and DMC’s driving background rap calling for an end to secrecy and sealed birth certificates in adoption.

Even in cases when the relinquishment took place under circumstances more traumatic than usual, mothers do remember and still care about their children, according to AIS/CTC Co-director Karen Liebgold, who, at age 17, gave up her son. "He was conceived as the result of a date rape. I have always loved him, but just couldn't keep him. I carried my secret for forty years, and hadn't even told my husband or other children. When my son's adoptive father found me in 2006, it was incredibly emotional. But now that the truth has come out, I'm much more at peace, knowing my son, and knowing he was raised in a great family. I'm thrilled for Jeff. This helps reduce the stigma of shame and secrecy that has clouded adoption for decades."

Hannasch plans to get his original birth certificate from Vital Records and frame it as soon as the amended Order from the El Paso County Court arrives. “Justice is a powerful thing. It feels good to finally be treated like an adult,” Hannasch said.

A growing number of states, including Kansas, Alaska, Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, Delaware, New Hampshire, and, as of January 2009, Maine, allow adult adoptees access to their original birth records, regardless of when the adoption took place. “I hope Colorado becomes one of those states very soon,” he added. “The only sad part is that thousands of people adopted for 30 years after me still have to go through the same difficult process I did. That needs to change.”

◊To read the Appeals Court ruling in its entirety, click here.

◊To find out how to obtain your adoption records, see our FAQ section. NOTE: Wording from this ruling is now being cited in Motions to obtain records for adoptions finalized prior to March 1949. See related FAQ!  

To read the related Rule approved by the Colorado State Board of Human Services, please see our FAQ section under Adoption Records: What about records in the custody of the Colorado Department of Human Services?.

See related article and audio slideshow in the Colorado Springs Gazette's story of August 2, 2009.