In Re Petition of Doe

John and Jane Doe filed a petition to adopt a newborn baby boy. The baby’s biological mother, Daniella Janikova, executed a consent to have the baby adopted four days after his birth without informing his biological father, Otakar Kirchner, to whom she was not yet married.

The mother told the father that the baby had died, and he did not find out otherwise until 57 days after the birth. The trial court ruled that the father’s consent was unnecessary because he did not show sufficient interest in the child during the first 30 days of the child’s life. The appellate court affirmed with one…