In re Interest of Meridian H.
Annotate this CaseMeridian H. is a 3-year-old girl who had been in foster care for all but a few weeks of her life. Her presumed biological father had died before she was born, and her biological mother’s parental rights were terminated. She had two minor siblings who were adopted before she was born. Meridian’s adoptive parents, on behalf of the siblings, intervened in the juvenile court’s proceedings to request that Meridian be placed in their home in Minnesota to keep the siblings together. Meridian’s maternal grandparents also intervened and filed a cross appeal seeking custody. The juvenile court denied the requests, and the adoptive parents and maternal grandparents appealed. The Supreme Court was “not persuaded that it would be logical or prudent to conclude that a constitutionally protected sibling relationship somehow [rose] from the ashes of a lawfully terminated or relinquished parent-child relationship.” The Court concluded that neither the adoptive parents, the siblings nor the maternal grandparents had standing to challenge the juvenile court’s ruling. The Court dismissed the appeals.
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