Opinion ID: 2514340
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: Mother's deception of others.

Text: The majority opinion criticizes father for not grasping numerous opportunities to develop a parental relationship, particularly in failing to take the steps necessary to catch mother in her abortion lies. The majority then suggests a number of missed opportunities, i.e., steps available to him. Its analysis, however, fails to fully consider that mother was such a good liar she was able to deceive absolutely everyone. Mother fooled members of her immediate family. Specifically, during the last 7 months of mother's pregnancy, she lived with her mother (for ease of reference, grandmother), stepfather, and sister. According to mother's own testimony, when her baby was born, she lied to grandmother, her sisters and stepfather at the hospital, telling them that the baby had died in childbirth. Again according to mother's testimony, because grandmother and some other family members had actually seen the live child, mother had to lie again. She told them that the baby had later died. She testified further that the family, even those with whom she lived, apparently did not attempt to conduct any verification: Q. Did they question that? A. Yeah. Q. You've got a seemingly healthy newborn and then you say, well, he died. A. Yes, that's what I said. And if I didn't give them any more answers to their questions, they just left it alone. (Emphasis added.) Father testified similarly. Grandmother told him that after birth, she bought baby clothes and accessories and went to the hospital room. There, she saw the adoptive parents. Each side wondered who the other was: What's going on here? The nurse then rushed grandmother out of the room. Later mother called grandmother and said the baby had died. But grandmother had doubts: And [grand]mother said, well, I seen that baby. I raised babies.... That was a healthy baby. I know a healthy baby when I see one. He wasn't sickly at all. Something's wrong. And [mother] called her sister and said the same thing, that the baby died. [Mother] had told the church and her minister that the baby had died. Everybody thought the baby had died for a while.  (Emphasis added.) After these additional lies, obviously mother did not tell grandmother of the baby's immediate adoption. Not only did mother testify that the family just left it alone, but also the record is devoid of any other evidence suggesting that her family or church members, who lived in the same town as mother, attempted to ascertain her veracity on any of these occasions. In addition to deceiving members of her close family and church with her lies, mother was obviously successful in deceiving the lawyer appointed to represent the father's interests at the original adoption proceeding. In reliance upon mother's lies, the lawyer repeated the deceits in her own affidavit filed with the court. Mother not only deceived this attorney and the adoption services agency, but she also deceived the adoptive parents and their lawyers. There is no evidence that any of these people attempted to ascertain mother's veracity. Yet inherent in the trial court's unchallenged finding of mother's fraud is a finding that they all reasonably relied upon her lies and reasonably failed to act as a result. Mother's lies also ultimately deceived the trial court judge who initially granted the adoption. It may be argued that, unlike these numerous people, father had suspicions which are contained in the record. A closer look at this evidence, howeverhis purported express suspicions and his conduct implying he harbored suspicions-reveals they were not truly suspicions.