In July 2020, a Dixon County judge denied a couple's petition to adopt a child simply because they were listed in their petition as "wife and wife."
Our clients had been doing everything right. They had completed all the required relinquishments, consent forms and completed a required home visit and background checks. Then came the judge’s decision.
Adoption equality is Nebraska’s plain letter of the law and the law of the land. Nebraska law as written, the Constitution and the marriage equality decision in Obergefell v. Hodges all pointed to the same conclusion.
We argued the case before the Nebraska Supreme Court and the justices unanimously sided with our clients.
The Court’s decision affirmed that state adoption laws allow any married couple to adopt, provided both partners are listed on the adoption form. They ordered the adoption process to proceed.
