Quilloin v. Walcott

Hill, Justice.

The constitutional rights of the natural father of an illegitimate child are presented here for review. After the *231child’s stepfather filed a petition for adoption, the natural father sought to oppose the adoption, to legitimate the child and to gain visitation rights. The trial court refused to declare Code Ann. § 74-203, placing all parental power in the mother of an illegitimate, and Code Ann. § 74-403 (3), requiring only her consent for such a child’s adoption, unconstitutional. The adoption was granted and the legitimation petition and visitation rights were denied. The…