Adoption of Kelsey S.
Supreme Court of California
823 P.2d 1216 (1992)
Kari S. gave birth to Kelsey and sought to place him for adoption; the biological father, Rickie M., was unmarried to Kari but immediately sought to establish paternity and gain custody. Prospective adoptive parents Steven and Suzanne filed a competing adoption petition. Because Kari, the court, and the prospective adoptive parents all kept Rickie from ever bringing Kelsey into his home, he was found not to be a "presumed father" under California law, and therefore lacked the statutory right to block the adoption. Rickie appealed after losing in the lower courts.
Whether a court may proceed with an adoption over the objection of the child's biological father, where the father promptly and diligently sought custody and was never found unfit.