Legal Opinion
Adoption of Vito
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided May 18, 2000PublishedCited by 66 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtMarshall, C.J.
This appeal arises from the denial of a petition to dispense with parental consent to adoption.2 The case concerns a child who tested positive for cocaine at the time of his birth in January, 1992, and who has lived with his foster parents (also his preadoptive parents) since he was discharged from the hospital one month after his birth. Vito has never lived with his biological mother.3 He is now eight and one-half years old.
On February 16, 1996, the Department of Social Services (department or DSS) filed a petition to dispense with parental consent for the adoption of Vito in the Probate and…
2Cases cited41 opinions
- Santosky v. KramerSupreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Stanley v. IllinoisSupreme Court of the United States · 1972
- Wisconsin v. YoderSupreme Court of the United States · 1972
- Meyer v. NebraskaSupreme Court of the United States · 1923
- Prince v. MassachusettsSupreme Court of the United States · 1944
36 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by66 opinions
- Adoption of IlonaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2011
- Adoption of GregoryMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2001
- Adoption of ElenaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2006
- Adoption of WillowMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2001
- Mason v. ColemanMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2006
61 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.