A judge Friday ruled in favor of a 12-year-old boy who set a legal precedent by going to court to "divorce" the biological parents he said had mistreated and abandoned him.
Circuit Judge Thomas S. Kirk told Gregory Kingsley he was now formally adopted by his foster parents. "Gregory, you're the son of Mr. and Mrs. Russ at this moment," he said as the courtroom broke into applause.Kirk said the boy's biological mother had "lied consistently" during the legal battle Gregory initiated to sever his relationship with her.
"I believe by clear and convincing evidence, almost beyond a reasonable doubt in this case, that this child has been abandoned . . . and neglected by Rachel Kingsley, and it is certainly in his best interests that her parental rights be terminated immediately."
Gregory's adoptive parents, George and Lizabeth Russ, said they were delighted. "We just hugged," Mrs. Russ said of Gregory. "It was really exciting. I didn't expect it would happen that fast."
Harry Morall II, a lawyer for Mrs. Kingsley, said his client "should have been judged by her lifestyle now, not in the past."
Mrs. Kingsley was not in the courtroom for closing arguments and the ruling. Morall told the judge just before he announced his ruling that she had become ill and left the courtroom. She never reappeared.
The case was considered precedent-setting because the lawsuit was pursued by a 12-year-old boy and the ruling gave a minor increased standing in a court of law. Lawyers say they deal with similar custody cases frequently, but the legal action is usually initiated by a foster parent or by the state.
The case was also given an unusually high profile by national coverage on Court TV and CNN.
The judge's ruling culminated a day in which Gregory took the witness stand and nervously recalled bouncing from his mother's home to foster homes until he finally "thought she forgot about me."
As his mother wept in the courtroom, Gregory recounted a joyless childhood filled with uncertainty and abandonment. He said his mother was often out late drinking and kept marijuana "in a brown box on a table in the living room."
Asked why he wanted to live permanently with his foster family, Gregory said: "I'm doing it for me, so I can be happy."
He said his first memory was of his dad leaving the family. He said he loved his foster parents but didn't love his mother.
The boy said he preferred to be called Shawn, not Gregory. "I hated the name Gregory," he said.
The boy contended in his lawsuit that his mother's abuse and neglect led him to seek legal freedom so he could be adopted by the Russes, with whom he has lived for almost a year.
Mrs. Kingsley wanted him back. Some legal observers said the case could affect the ability of children to protect themselves from parental abuse or neglect.
David S. Liederman, head of the Child Welfare League of America in Washington, D.C., praised the ruling.
"This landmark case is a giant step in recognizing that in certain cases of abuse and neglect, children in their own right will now legally be recognized in court," he said.