Alabama Supreme Court ruling blocking same sex adoption reversed by SCOTUS [Read Judgment]

Supreme Court of United States has reversed Alabama Supreme Court decision which had refused to recognize an out-of-state adoption by a same-sex partner.

A Georgia court entered a final judgment of adoption making petitioner V. L. a legal parent of the children that she and respondent E. L. had raised together from birth. V. L. and E. L. later separated while living in Alabama. V. L. asked the Alabama courts to enforce the Georgia judgment and grant her custody or visitation rights. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against her, holding that the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution does not require the Alabama courts to respect the Georgia judgment. V.L preferred appeal before Supreme Court of United States.

Reversing the judgment of Alabama Supreme Court, the SCOTUS observed that the Georgia judgment appears on its face to have been issued by a court with jurisdiction, and there is no established Georgia law to the contrary. It follows that the Alabama Supreme Court erred in refusing to grant that judgment full faith and credit, the Court said.

The Court said quoting its decision in Milliken v. Meyer, “A State may not disregard the judgment of a sister State because it disagrees with the reasoning underlying the judgment or deems it to be wrong on the merits. On the contrary, “the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution precludes any inquiry into the merits of the cause of action, the logic or consistency of the decision, or the validity of the legal principles on which the judgment is based.”

Read the Judgment here.