Where Are Adoption Cases Heard?
Adoption is a legal process for making a child a permanent member of a family other than the child's birth family. This legal process falls under the jurisdiction of a court of law in the State where the adoption occurs.
Jurisdiction
Every State maintains a court system in which different courts are designated to hear specific types of cases. That designation is what is meant by the term "jurisdiction." For example, criminal cases will be tried in a State criminal court. Adoption is a civil procedure, and at the State court level, certain civil courts are given jurisdiction over adoption cases. A person who seeks to adopt a child must file his or her petition for adoption with the appropriate court.
Examples of Jurisdiction
State courts are organized in a hierarchy of courts of original jurisdiction, which is the level at which cases are first heard, and appellate courts, which hear cases that have been appealed from lower courts. The names given to these courts vary from State to State. All adoption cases commence with a petition filed with the appropriate court of original jurisdiction.
The types of court designated as the court of original jurisdiction reflect the organization of the State court system, and the names can include:
- Circuit court (Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin);
- District court (Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wyoming, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico);
- Superior court (Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington, and Guam);
- Probate court (Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Vermont )
- Family court (Delaware, Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island, and South Carolina)
- Juvenile court (Colorado, Louisiana, and Minnesota)
Some other names used are equity (Maryland), chancery (Mississippi), court of common pleas (Pennsylvania), county (Nebraska), trial (Northern Mariana Islands), territorial (Virgin Islands), and court of first instance (Puerto Rico).
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From the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)
