In Re Adoption of M.K.C. v. Pope County Circuit Court
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SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. 08-258
IN RE ADOPTION OF M.K.C.
APPELLANT,
VS.
POPE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
APPELLEE,
Opinion Delivered June 5, 2008
APPEAL FROM POPE COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT,
NO. PR-07-305,
HON. GORDON WILLIAM
MCCAIN, JR., JUDGE
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
JIM GUNTER, Associate Justice
This appeal arises from an order of the Pope County Circuit Court ruling that
Appellant, Callie Michelle Cox, is not eligible to adopt her biological minor child, M.K.C.
Specifically, the circuit court found that Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-204(3) (Repl. 2002) does not
permit an unmarried mother to adopt her child, and, therefore, the court denied her petition.
For the reasons set forth in King v. Ochoa, __ Ark. __, __ S.W.3d __ (June 5, 2008), we
reverse and remand for consideration of the adoption petition on the merits.
On October 15, 2007, Appellant filed a petition for the adoption of M.K.C. The
petition stated that Appellant is the biological mother of the child. It further alleged that no
father had been involved in the life of the child, and after an inquiry was sent to the Arkansas
Department of Health and Human Services, no matching claim was found in the Arkansas
Putative Father Registry.1 At a hearing on October 25, 2007, the court denied Appellant’s
It should be noted that this inquiry was searched under the name “Infant Brucks”
in contrast to the child’s name identified in this appeal, M.K.C.
1
petition for adoption. The court noted that, while Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-204(3) does not
prohibit adoption of a child by the biological mother, Appellant’s petition should be denied
for public policy reasons. An order of dismissal was entered on November 19, 2007, which
stated that Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-204(3) does not permit an unmarried natural mother to
adopt her own child. Appellant timely filed her notice of appeal on December 3, 2007.
In Appellant’s sole point on appeal, she argues that the circuit court erred in its
interpretation of Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-204(3).2 Appellant contends that § 9-9-204(3)
permits an unmarried mother to adopt her child for the purpose of establishing herself as the
only person with a parent-child relationship to the individual to be adopted, and that the
circuit court incorrectly denied her adoption petition.
This court has consistently held that adoption statutes are to be strictly construed and
applied. In re Adoption of Tompkins, 341 Ark. 949, 951, 20 S.W.3d 385, 386 (2000). For the
reasons set forth in King v. Ochoa, __ Ark. __, __ S.W.3d __ (June 5, 2008), we hold that the
circuit erred in its interpretation of § 9-9-204. Under this section, an unmarried mother or
father may adopt; however, § 9-9-204 only sets out who may adopt. All other requirements
under the Uniform Adoption Act must still be met. Accordingly, we reverse the ruling of the
circuit court and remand for consideration of the adoption petition on the merits.
Reversed and remanded.
2
No appellee’s brief was filed in this case.
-2-
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