Court of Appeals Rules Vanessa Doss Stays in CA - For Now

by LCoastMom | July 17, 2010 at 07:15 pm

957 views | 7 Recommendations | 3 comments

For the first time since her court battles began, almost two years ago, Stacey Doss, an Orange County, CA mother, feels her voice is finally being heard. The Orange County Appellate Court, ruled in her favor this week, saving Doss' two year old daughter, Vanessa, from being pulled out of her home and placed in foster care - indefinitely and the Justices are asking attorneys on both sides of the custody battle, to be ready to discuss the best interests of the child - a ruling Doss is hoping the courts will ultimately decide means staying with her, in So California.

Two years ago, adoptive mother, Stacey Doss flew to Ohio, to meet her new daughter and bring her home. After the papers had all been signed and filed - Doss and newborn, Vanessa returned to So California. Beginning a new chapter in her life. A life, Doss had been looking forward to for years.

A short time later, Doss discovered that the birth mother had falsified legal documents regarding Vanessa's biological father. Claiming the pregnancy was the result of a one night stand and the father was unknown. When her ex boyfriend, Benjamin Mills Jr discovered the baby had been born and adopted - he had a DNA test done - that proved paternity, followed by petitions to the courts, asking for baby Vanessa to be turned over to him.

A custody battle was on; and it has used every resource Stacey Doss has and them some, including an inner strength that she never knew she possessed - strength that was born out of the need to protect her daughter from the state's machine, called child custody. Child custody that does not recognize or respect children as individuals, rather sees them as parental property or as a thing, that can be indefinitely warehoused, in another state machine, called foster care.

Late last month, an Ohio Court demanded Vanessa be returned to Montgomery County, where she was born - followed by Orange County CA, Judge Michael J. Naughton's July 2 ruling that gave full jurisdiction of the case to Montgomery County, Ohio. Giving Doss until July 16, to return Vanessa to Ohio. In effect, sending the two year old, with a loving mother and a good home, to foster care, until the custody battle is resolved. A battle that has been waged for almost two years now and has no end in sight.

Doss, thru her attorney, filed an appeal to Naughton's decision. With the July 16th deadline looming ever closer - so close in fact, that Doss had received a phone call from the Ohio authorities, just days ago to discuss the details of handing over her baby to social services. Something that Doss can't even contemplate.

"That call on Saturday made my heart drop," Doss said. "It's just so hard to talk about handing your daughter over to someone. It seems surreal and completely unnecessary."

Finally, on Wednesday, Doss received the phone call that she had been praying for. She released the following statement: "The California Court of Appeal has granted us our appeal request for an immediate temporary stay. The response states, '...the child shall not be removed from Orange County, CA, until further order of this court.' This means that Vanessa is safe in California, with me, for the time being. We are elated that the emergency stay is based on the Appellate Court’s concern for Vanessa’s best interest. Today's decision is one victory in what will likely be a long fight. We are hoping that this case is somehow precedent setting for all children in this country."

In the appeal, The Justices have asked the attorneys for the one thing that Doss has been asking for all along; "to include a discussion on how the best interests of the child will be served by the grant or denial of the petition." This simple request is supposed to be the standard of all child custody suits. Somehow, over the years, this has been lost in the emotion that is involved in any child custody case and children are being harmed daily, because of it.

This particular case may carry more potential for harm, than most. The relationship Mills has with Vanessa's birth mother, is complicated at best - it includes a year long prison sentence for Mills after he was convicted, for the 3rd time, on felony domestic violence charges. There is also an open case in Montgomery County regarding Mills, for child endangerment - it has not been released if this involves Vanessa's two half sister's, who live with Mills ex-wife or her two sisters, who are being raised by their paternal grandmother. If Mills wins his battle against Stacey Doss, most likely Vanessa will also be handed over to Mills elderly mother to raise for him. While Mills is proficient at making babies, raising them does not seem to be his forte'.

Following the Court of Appeals ruling, Mills attorney, Elizabeth Gorman said; this court decision was expected and of Mills Jr, she said; "As he has all along, Mr. Mills places his trust and faith in the court system, where this matter should and will be resolved. He continues to believe that the court system will bring this private situation that Ms. Doss has made so public to a positive conclusion resulting in a loving relationship between him, his daughter and his family."

Ms Gorman made a similar comment after Doss appeared on GMA, when she added that her client “will remain focused on the law and not on the publicity generated by Stacey Doss.” But, Benjamin Mill's Sr - her client's father, stepped up to the mic in an interview with the Dayton Daily News, saying of his son; "He’s a grown man — he should get his daughter back.” adding. “He’s changed, he’s a good father to them. He's a caring parent who just wants to see his child.” The Senior Mills told the DDN reporter several times, that his son intended to place Vanessa in the custody of his mother, but he later said, “I don’t really know what he’s doing.” A little honesty at long last.

Since going public with Operation Vanessa, Stacy Doss has received an out pouring of love and support from around the corner to across the US. On July 4th, local children, from Doss' Orange County neighborhood had a lemon-aid stand - they collected over $600.00 dollars that was given to Doss to use in her up hill battle. A battle that has cost her dearly, including almost losing her home to foreclosure, twice - when she had to choose between paying her mortgage or her legal fees. While Mills legal fees have been paid for by tax payers in CA and Ohio.

Last night, mother bloggers - from So CA and Ohio held candle light vigils, called a "Circle of Hope" to show their love and support to Stacey and Vanessa. Stacey Doss made a heart felt statement while attending the vigil in Orange County and a surprise guest attended the vigil in Dayton, at Carillon Park. Vanessa's birth mother, Andrea Conley, broke her silence saying - "When you give a child up for adoption you plan to just fade into the background, but that isn't the case, I've been brought to the front lines of this battle. I have to be a voice for Vanessa." She told a crowd that she wants to see custody go to Stacey Doss, the only mother Vanessa has ever known - Spoken as only a loving mother can.

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TheOnlyParentBecause? (not verified)

at 10:37 on July 19th, 2010

A little more honesty and less pr spin.The adoption was not legal, her father never gave her up, and has been fighting for his daughter since she was born. The adoption was stopped and she has not proven that he's not a fit parent and he should have no say in whether his daughter is adopted. If a third party wants custody of someone's child and that parent does not want to give up their child, then they should have to go to court and prove that the parent is not fit. They should not be allowed to keep the child because of lies on adoption papers, they can afford to hire enough lawyers to drag out a legal battle for years, then say so much time has passed that they should be allowed to just keep the child. "Joe Kroll, executive director of the Minneapolis-based North American Council on Adoptable Children, said such prolonged custody battles are extremely rare — and extremely complicated...“There wasn’t the right work done in relation to the voluntary relinquishment of the child,” Kroll said. “The adoptive parents said, ‘we have raised this child from day one,’ but I’m sorry, the law was broken from day one.” Kroll noted that it’s disingenuous for prospective adoptive parents to argue that the child shouldn’t be “taken from the only home they’ve known” if they’ve been fighting contested custody since the child’s infancy."

LCoastMom

at 13:49 on July 20th, 2010

Sorry you see it as spin and dishonesty. Ms Doss did not lie on the adoption papers and neither she nor Vanessa should be penalized because of someone else's misstatements.

I believe that if the courts were seeing in Mr Mills favor, this would have been decided as soon as his DNA test proved paternity but a man who would drag his child's mother around by the hair, is not a person qualified to raise a child, his or anyone else's. That is pretty clear. Since the assault was his 3rd conviction - I don't have too much trouble theorizing he has more than likely committed multiple assaults that were never charged since it is a known fact that most women don't report assaults committed against them by a domestic partner.

A man who does not plan on raising a child but plans to remove her from the custody of the "only mother she knows" just to prove he can - is also not qualified to be a parent.

If Mr Mills was a fine, upstanding citizen who was raising his four older children and wanted Vanessa returned to him, I would feel very differently about this case, but knowing what I have found about Mills - makes me view this as an attempt to once again stick it to his ex girlfriend and that should not be allowed. May the courts see what is in Vanessa's best interest and leave her with the parent who has been caring for her and loving her since the day she was born.

CA Lemon Law (not verified)

at 22:18 on September 17th, 2010

Usually, a car is labeled a lemon if the same problem occurs three times in a row over a short period, and previous attempts at repair have not fixed the problem. In most cases, if you get a lemon, lemon laws will make the company buy back the car or exchange it.