The Anna Mae He case

The following is the story of Anna Mae He. The case originated in front of former Chancellor D.J. Allisandratos. Allisandratos removed himself from the case after complaints were made against him to the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. Allisandratos’ hands had already shaped the case, though, because he issued orders preventing contact between Anna Mae and her “real” parents, the Hes. The case was then transferred to Circuit Court Judge Childers, who terminated the He’s parental rights, a decision that was REVERSED by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The link to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s opinion is located on the An Attorney’s Tale Facebook page.


Allisandratos, who did not run for re-election after the He case, ran an elitist court from the most arrogant point of view. He would terminate parental rights at the drop of a hat. Two of my cases that were in his court will be discussed in later postings. After Judge Childers’ made his decision in the He case, Childers was scornful to attorneys that publicly decried his decision.

The following is directly quoted from the free public domain website of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custody_battle_for_Anna_Mae_He

Anna Mae He, born January 28, 1999 in the United States, was the subject of a custody battle between her Chinese biological parents, Shaoqiang (Jack) He and Qin Luo "Casey" He, and her foster parents, Jerry and Louise Baker. The case received United States national media attention for years and revolved around the claim of Jerry and Louise Baker that Jack and Casey He abandoned their rights to the child when they signed a temporary custody order.

Background

Anna Mae He's father, Jack, came to the United States in 1995 on a student visa and attended Arizona State. In 1997 he enrolled in University of Memphis, receiving a scholarship and a stipend for work as a graduate assistant. Anna Mae's mother, Casey, obtained a visa as Jack's wife and shortly after coming to the United States became pregnant with Anna Mae.

During the pregnancy, Jack was accused of sexual assault by a fellow student six days after the reported event in October 1998. The University conducted an investigation of the alleged assault and determined that no one saw Jack or the alleged victim together at the time and location in question. Despite the lack of incriminating evidence, Jack He's graduate assistant position was terminated by the school, resulting in the loss of his stipend and health insurance. Jack He was charged with attempted rape, but was acquitted by a jury in February 2002. Later during the pregnancy, the couple was involved in an altercation with the alleged rape victim and the alleged victim's husband in a grocery store. Casey was knocked down and suffered vaginal bleeding. Her condition worsened afterward until Anna was delivered by Caesarean section two months later. Faced with a $12,000 hospital bill and a criminal charge with no stable income, the couple sought help from Mid-South Christian Services which agreed to place the baby in a foster home with Jerry and Louise Baker for three months. During this time Jack He was arrested for the previous sexual assault accusation, which caused the loss of his new job. With only Casey's income as a waitress to survive on, the Hes searched for someone to take Anna Mae back to China to be cared for by relatives but were unable to find anyone.

Disagreement

Unable to financially care for Anna Mae, the Hes decided to let her remain in the Bakers' custody. The Bakers expressed interest in adopting Anna Mae but the Hes were unwilling. An agreement was reached that would give the Bakers temporary custody and let the Hes retain parental rights. The Bakers claim there was also an oral agreement that the Bakers would raise Anna Mae until she is eighteen years old. But the Hes contend that they did not agree to this and that the arrangement was only temporary. A juvenile court officer's testimony supports the Hes' claim.

On June 2, 1999, Jack He and the Bakers meet with a Mid-South Christian Services attorney. In the meeting, the attorney told Jack it would be necessary to go to court to regain custody if all parties did not agree to a change in custody.

On June 4, 1999, the Hes and the Bakers went to the Shelby County Juvenile Court to obtain the consent order transferring custody to the Bakers. Without the knowledge of either party, the juvenile court officer typed a guardianship provision into the consent order. Because Casey He did not speak or read English very well, she was unable to read the documents and had to rely on an interpreter for their meaning. Three witnesses, including the interpreter, reported that Casey was very concerned that the Bakers' custody of Anna Mae be temporary. The juvenile court officer testified that she was "adamant that at some point she wanted her child back." She was told that signing the consent order was necessary for Anna Mae to obtain health insurance and the interpreter testified that she signed the order believing custody to be temporary.

The Hes continued to visit Anna Mae regularly for about an hour a week. Louise Baker began to keep a diary in which she documented the Hes' visits to Anna Mae, writing down when the visits were, how long they lasted, how the Hes interacted with Anna Mae, and what gifts they gave her. In October 1999, friction began when the Hes wanted to take Anna Mae out of the Bakers' home and the Bakers refused. Louise Baker wrote "We would like to get visits to every other week. We feel like they would wean away, but the last 2 visits we could see Casey is wanting to come more." In November 1999, Jack He told Jerry Baker they wanted to regain custody of Anna Mae. Jerry replied that they did not want to give up Anna Mae and that Louise was pregnant and he didn't want her to miscarry. The Hes contacted the juvenile court officer several times during these months complaining about problems with visitation and talking about wanting to get custody back.

In May 2000, the Hes petitioned the Juvenile Court for custody. The petition was denied.

Jack found work in Georgia and Casey continued to visit Anna Mae until one day she refused to leave the Bakers' home. The police were called. Jack quit his job in Georgia after the Bakers told him that Casey was not allowed to visit Anna Mae by herself.

The Hes continued to visit Anna Mae until January 28, 2001 when an argument occurred at the Bakers' home. The Hes wanted to take Anna Mae to a photography studio for a family portrait on her second birthday, but the Bakers refused. The Bakers subsequently called the police. The Hes were told that they could not return to the Bakers' home. The police officer later testified that he said they could not return to the Bakers' house that day but the Hes believed they were being told that they could not return to the Bakers' home at all. The Hes did not see Anna Mae again for years.

The Hes contacted the Juvenile Court about regaining custody and in April 2001 filed to regain custody, but since only Casey signed, the petition was refiled on May 29. A hearing was set for June 6 but was rescheduled to June 22 so that the Bakers' lawyer could attend. Meanwhile, the Bakers were advised by their attorney to file to revoke the Hes' parental rights. On June 20, 2001, four months and five days after the January argument, they filed a petition for adoption and termination of parental rights in the Chancery Court of Shelby County. This halted the Hes' petition in juvenile court and transferred the case to chancery court.

Case history

In May 2000, Hes petition Juvenile Court for custody of Anna Mae. The petition was denied.

In April 2001, Hes petition Juvenile Court for custody of Anna Mae.

In June 2001, Bakers petition Chancery Court to adopt Anna Mae citing abandonment and lack of financial support from Hes.

In May 2004 after a 10-day trial, Judge Robert L. Childers, a Tennessee circuit judge, terminated Hes' parental rights on grounds of willful abandonment, despite Hes' persistent effort to get custody back via Juvenile Court. This decision was later affirmed by a majority in the Tennessee Court of Appeals on 2005-11-23. Hes subsequently appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

In October 2006, Hes argue at the Tennessee Supreme Court that the trial court erred in terminating their parental rights. They contend that the facts do not support a finding of willful abandonment, as their repeated effort to seek custody via juvenile court was a clear attempt to visit Anna Mae. After the oral argument, the Hes submitted a motion pro se to the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking the high Court to rule on the custody issue directly. On how to interpret the word "temporary", in their pro se motion to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Hes maintained that the temporary nature of the custody arrangement hinged on the temporary nature of the hardship they experienced at the time of the arrangement. Therefore, the Hes argue that they have superior parental rights over the custody dispute, as the exception laid out in a landmark Tennessee Supreme Court decision (Blair v. Badenhope) should apply.

In January 2007, the Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, authored by Chief Justice William M. Barker, reversed the ruling by the state Court of Appeals and ordered that Anna Mae He be returned to her biological parents. In its ruling, the Court said, "We hold that the parents of Anna Mae He did not voluntarily transfer custody and guardianship of Anna Mae He to the Bakers with knowledge of the consequences and, therefore are entitled to superior rights to custody." and "the evidence does not support a 'willful failure to visit' as a ground for abandonment." The case must now cycle back through the Shelby County Chancery Court as the process of returning the child to her biological parents begins. The Bakers will have to pay all legal fees, according to the opinion.

After the judgment was entered, on 2007-02-02, the Bakers motioned the Tennessee Supreme Court to rehear the case and stay the custody transfer. The Tennessee Supreme Court promptly denied both motions on 2007-02-09 and ordered the Bakers to pay costs "for which execution may issue if necessary".

Immediately thereafter, the Bakers petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the transfer of custody. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Bakers' requests on 2007-02-12.

The Bakers then petitioned for habeas corpus relief as "friend" of Anna Mae in U.S. Federal District Court, claiming that Anna Mae was under the custody of Tennessee state. The federal judge denied the petition.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Bakers' petition for writ of certiorari in mid-2007, thus ending the legal battle.

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