Opinion ID: 2197540
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: standing under the baby richard amendment

Text: Less than three weeks after this court issued its June 16, 1994, decision reversing the trial and appellate courts' decisions in this case, the General Assembly held an emergency session during which it passed Public Act 88-550, which amended the Adoption Act (750 ILCS 50/1 et seq. (West 1992)). The amendment provides, inter alia: In the event a judgment order for adoption is vacated or a petition for adoption is denied, the court shall promptly conduct a hearing as to the temporary and permanent custody of the minor child who is the subject of the proceedings pursuant to Part VI of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The parties to said proceedings shall be the petitioners to the adoption proceedings, the minor child, any biological parents whose parental rights have not been terminated, and other parties who have been granted leave to intervene in the proceedings.       This amendatory Act of 1994 applies to cases pending on and after its effective date. (Emphasis added.) (Pub.Act. 88-550, eff. July 3, 1994 (adding 750 ILCS 50/20(b)).) The Does contend that this recent amendment to the Adoption Act, which gives adoptive parents standing to seek permanent custody of the child in a failed adoption, applies to the instant case. In support, they argue that the amendment became effective on July 3, 1994, prior to this court's denial of the Does' petition for rehearing and prior to the United States Supreme Court's denial of the Does' writ of certiorari. Because of these post-decision petitions, the Does conclude that the instant case was still pending after the effective date of the amendments and thus that the legislation applies. Otto counters that because his rights had been finally adjudicated in this court's June 16, 1994, opinion, applying the amendment retroactively is unconstitutionally violative of the separation of powers doctrine. The principle of separation of powers is embodied in article II, section 1, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, which provides: The legislative, executive and judicial branches are separate. No branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another. (Ill. Const.1970, art. II, § 1.) This court has observed that the General Assembly is not a court of last resort and it may not attempt to retroactively apply new statutory language to annul a prior decision of this court. ( Roth v. Yackley (1979), 77 Ill.2d 423, 33 Ill.Dec. 131, 396 N.E.2d 520.) While the General Assembly may enact retroactive legislation which changes the effect of a prior decision of a reviewing court with respect to others whose circumstances are similar but whose rights have not been finally decided, it is axiomatic that the General Assembly may not validly enact a statute, the effect of which is to change a decision of this court which has finally adjudicated the rights of particular parties. Sanelli v. Glenview State Bank (1985), 108 Ill.2d 1, 90 Ill.Dec. 908, 483 N.E.2d 226. Initially, the Does contend that the amendment does not violate the separation of powers doctrine because their petition for rehearing was pending at the time the amendment became effective. Otto contends that, because this court had finally adjudicated the rights between the parties in its opinion of June 16, 1994, the amendment cannot be constitutionally applied to his case. We agree. This court has held that the filing of a petition for rehearing does not alter the effective date of the judgment of a reviewing court unless that court allows the petition for rehearing, in which event the effective date of the judgment is the date that the judgment is entered on rehearing. ( PSL Realty Co. v. Granite Investment Co. (1981), 86 Ill.2d 291, 56 Ill.Dec. 368, 427 N.E.2d 563.) Since the petition for rehearing was denied in this case, as was the petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, the effective date of judgment was June 16, 1994. On that date, the rights between the parties were finally adjudicated by this court, rendering the subsequent amendment constitutionally inapplicable. The Does counter that issues of pendency and finality are distinct and that legislation passed after the final adjudication of rights but while petitions for rehearing are still pending can be constitutionally applied retroactively. Though the cases cited by the Does stand for the propriety of applying a new enactment to a pending case when that enactment becomes effective at any stage in the litigation, none of those cases involved an amendment which attempted to alter the vested rights of parties to the litigation after this court had finally adjudicated them. (See General Telephone Co. v. Johnson (1984), 103 Ill.2d 363, 83 Ill.Dec. 133, 469 N.E.2d 1067 (retroactive change in a taxing statute); Schlenz v. Castle (1981), 84 Ill.2d 196, 49 Ill.Dec. 322, 417 N.E.2d 1336 (curative act validating late publication of real estate tax assessments).) Rather, the cases involved changes to rights that were not vested, thus rendering the otherwise unconstitutional retroactive changes constitutional. As regards the instant case, this court found on June 16, 1994, that Otto had been improperly denied a most fundamental right, the right to the care, custody and control of his son. Because we subsequently denied rehearing on our decision to vacate the adoption, the date of the final adjudication of Otto's resulting right to custody of Richard for purposes of the instant separation of powers review remains June 16, 1994. (See PSL Realty, 86 Ill.2d at 305, 56 Ill.Dec. 368, 427 N.E.2d 563.) Thus, the amendment to the Adoption Act cannot be constitutionally applied retroactively. Our conclusion is further buttressed by this court's decision in In re Marriage of Cohn (1982), 93 Ill.2d 190, 66 Ill.Dec. 615, 443 N.E.2d 541. In Cohn, this court considered the applicability of an amendment to the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act passed by the legislature after the appellate court's resolution of the case, but prior to this court's reviewing opinion. Noting that the legislative history clearly showed that the legislative action was explicitly taken in order to reverse the result reached by the appellate court, this court refused to apply the amendment to the case. ( Cohn, 93 Ill.2d at 202-07, 66 Ill.Dec. 615, 443 N.E.2d 541.) This court reiterated that although the legislature may change the law as interpreted by the courts prospectively, it cannot retroactively alter a statute with the explicit intent to overrule the decision of a reviewing court. Cohn, 93 Ill.2d at 205, 66 Ill.Dec. 615, 443 N.E.2d 541. Though the Does acknowledge this court's holding in Cohn, they assert that the Cohn separation of powers analysis should not be employed in the instant case because, in enacting the amendments at bar, the legislature did not attempt to overrule this court's June 16, 1994, decision vacating the adoption. Rather, the Does argue that the legislature merely sought to make clear what happens after an adoption is vacated, as opposed to altering this court's vacation of the actual adoption. The Does' attempt to distinguish the vacation of the adoption of Richard from what happens after the vacation of the adoption is without merit. Separation of powers analysis requires an examination of the effect a change in retroactive legislation will have on the substantive rights of parties already announced by a court and does not turn upon inconsequential distinctions. Earlier in this opinion, we noted that prior to the instant amendment, the vacation of an invalid adoption results in the automatic reversion of custody to any fit parent who has not otherwise consented to the relinquishment of his or her rights to the care, custody and control of the child. Insofar as Otto is fit and has not consented to Richard's adoption, he cannot now be divested of his right to the care, custody and control of Richard by the General Assembly's hastily enacted amendment attempting to overturn the decision of this court. Looking to the legislative history, as this court did in Cohn, we note that the legislature passed the amendment at issue to alter the effect of our June 16, 1994, opinion vesting custody of Richard with Otto. Any doubt in this regard is belied by the readings of the bill before the Senate: SENATOR TROTTER: They're already in the Supreme Court. So they've gone before three tribunals. The way the language [of the amendment] reads, it says, in fact, that they [the Does] can-they can ask for a new case. So are we circumventing the courts at this time?       SENATOR CRONIN: Well, first of all, the Supreme Court would have to agree to hear a petition to entertain the idea of remanding this case. They'd have to overturn their decision. They'd have to reconsider theirtheir unanimous decision, and they'd have to overturn that decision and then remand it to the circuit court. While my personal sympathies are with the adoptive parents, and I think that there are some problems with that case from the outset, my main objective in this legislation is prospective, to insure that Baby Richard cases don't happen again.       SENATOR TROTTER: The question is, thenthen why are we having an immediate effective date? If you're notif your intent is not to have an impact on the Baby Richard's case and only on the prospective cases, then why are we saying we have the immediate effective date, which will more than likely have an impact on something that's already gone through these three tribunals, which is the system that we've set up here in this State?       SENATOR CRONIN: Maybe I misspoke, or maybe Isaid something that was confusing. I can't tell you what the outcome is going to be in terms of its impact on the case. Whether this bill does have an impact on this case is something for the justices to decide. IIImy intent is, yes, that it would have an impact on Baby Richard and all other cases in the future that are similarly situated. (Emphasis added.) 88th Ill.Gen.Assem., Senate Proceedings, July 1, 1994, at 37-38. This court will not be blind to the circumstances surrounding the enactment of a statute in determining whether it violates separation of powers principles. The legislative branch of Illinois' three-branch government cannot sit as a reviewing court over the decisions of the judicial branch which has adjudicated a suit at law and established and articulated the legal rights of the parties to the litigation. To hold otherwise would render the separation of powers doctrine a nullity and threaten the very fabric of our democracy.