DeBoer v. DeBoer, 509 U.S. 1301 (1993)

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OPINION OF INDIVIDUAL JUSTICE
IN CHAMBERS

DEBOER, aka BABY GIRL CLAUSEN, by her next friend, DARROW v. DEBOER et al.

on application for stay

No. A-64. Decided July 26, 1993*

Applications to stay enforcement of a Michigan Supreme Court order directing applicant DeBoers to deliver applicant child to her natural parents in Iowa are denied. There is neither a reasonable probability that the Court will grant certiorari nor a fair prospect that, if it did so, it would conclude that the decision below is erroneous. Determinations made by the Iowa Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals—that the DeBoers were not entitled to adopt the child because her biological father's parental rights had not been terminated—control this proceeding's ultimate outcome. Iowa law, Michigan law, and federal law do not authorize unrelated persons to retain custody of a child simply because they may be better able to provide for her future and education. There is no valid federal objection to the conduct or outcome of the Iowa court proceedings. When the DeBoers sought to modify the Iowa Supreme Court's decision in the Michigan courts, rather than seeking review of the decision, the Michigan Supreme Court correctly concluded that Michigan courts are obligated to give effect to the Iowa proceedings.

Justice Stevens, Circuit Justice.

Applicants in No. A-65 are residents of Washtenaw County, Michigan. On July 2, 1993, the Michigan Supreme Court entered an order requiring them to comply with custody orders that had previously been entered by the Michigan Court of Appeals and by the Iowa state courts which had directed them to deliver a child to its natural parents in Iowa. They have filed an application with me in my capacity

*Together with No. A-65, DeBoer v. Schmidt, also on application for stay.

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