Marich v. Knox County Department of Human Services/Children Services Unit

I agree with the majority that a petition for a writ of habeas corpus may be an appropriate avenue to contest the validity of a permanent surrender agreement. This court has implicitly held that invalid consent to a surrender agreement is a jurisdictional defect, allowing a writ of habeas corpus to issue. R.C. 2725.05; see, e.g., Manning v. Miami Cty. Children’s Services Bd. (1985), 18 Ohio St. 3d 211, 18 OBR 273, 480 N.E. 2d 770. Moreover, the writ should not automatically be denied in a case such as this on the ground that the petitioner has an adequate remedy at law.3 *168However, I find the…