Sanchez v. L.D.S. Social Services

STEWART, Justice:

The plaintiff, Tom Sanchez, appeals a dismissal of his petition for a writ of habe-as corpus to obtain custody of the child he fathered who, born out of wedlock, is now over three years old. The mother had given the child up to defendant L.D.S. Social Services to be placed for adoption. The district court dismissed Sanchez’s petition on the ground that he had abandoned the child pursuant to the terms of U.C.A., 1953, § 78-30-4(3). That provision reads as follows:(a) A person who is the father or claims to be the father of an illegitimate child may claim rights pertaining to…