Opinion
No. A-xxxx/83.
2012-02-1
In the Matter of the ADOPTION OF A CHILD WHOSE FIRST NAME IS DENNIS, Pursuant to Article 7, Title II of the Domestic Relations Law and Article 6, Part 2 of the Family Court Act.
No appearances of counsel.
JOHN M. HUNT, J.
Dennis X., the individual who was the subject of this agency adoption proceeding, has made application for disclosure, access, or inspection of the record of the adoption proceeding pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 114, “upon medical grounds” and “for good cause other than medical grounds”.
Specifically, Mr. X. requests disclosure, access, or inspection of the record of his adoption because “I have a mental illness and no family and I see a psychiatrist and a therapist.” Mr. X. has appended a letter from his attending psychiatrist at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, which states, in pertinent part, that Mr. X. has been a patient at the hospital's outpatient clinic “since December 10, 2007” and that “[h]e was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent with Psychotic Features ... and Borderline Intellectual Functioning.” The doctor further states that Mr. X. receives weekly psychotherapy and that he has been prescribed psychiatric medication.
Mr. X.'s adoptive parents, William and Mary X., who adopted him on June 12, 1984, are alleged to be deceased.
The governing statute, Domestic Relations Law § 114, provides in pertinent part, as follows:
Such order and all the papers in the proceeding shall be filed in the office of the court granting the adoption and the order shall be entered in books which shall be kept under seal ... [s]uch order, including orders heretofore entered, shall be subject to inspection and examination only as hereinafter provided * * * The written report of the investigation together with all other papers pertaining to the adoption shall be kept by the judge or surrogate as a permanent record of his court and such papers must be sealed by him and withheld from inspection (Domestic Relations Law § 114[1] ).
No person, including the attorney for the adoptive parents, shall disclose the surname of the child directly or indirectly to the adoptive parents, except upon order of the court. No person shall be allowed access to such sealed records and order and ant index thereof except upon an order of a judge or a surrogate of the court in which the order was made or of a justice of the supreme court. No order for disclosure or access and inspection shall be granted except upon good cause shown and on due notice to the adoptive parents and to such additional persons as the court may direct (Domestic Relations Law § 114[2] ).
Good cause for disclosure or access to and inspection of sealed adoption records and orders and any index thereof, hereinafter the “adoption records”, under this section may be established on medical grounds as provided herein. Certification from a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York that relief under this subdivision is required to address a serious physical or mental illness shall be prima facie evidence of good cause. Such certification shall identify the information required to address such illness * * * (Domestic Relations Law § 114[4] ).
Secrecy and the maintenance of privacy have been hallmarks of our adoption statute (Matter of Walker, 64 N.Y.2d 354, 360;Golan v. Louise Wise Services, 69 N.Y.2d 343, 346). “Section 114 of the Domestic Relations Law places great emphasis on the confidential nature of adoption records. The section provides that they shall be sealed and secret'. It prohibits anyone, including the adoptive parents' attorney, from disclosing the child's original surname to the adoptive parents. It authorizes punishment for contempt of court for certain breaches of confidentiality occurring in the handling of adoption records. The section permits access to the records only by court order on good cause shown and on due notice to the adoptive parents and to such additional persons as the court may direct” (Matter of Linda F.M., 52 N.Y.2d 236, 238–239,app dismissed454 U.S. 806).
Domestic Relations Law § 114 “expresses a public policy of this State which has evolved over the years” ( Matter of Walker at 360). The statute is based upon a recognition that “[a]ccess to confidential adoption information may be inimical to the interests of the adoptive parents, the biological parents and society. All have the strongest interest in the maintenance of anonymity * * * The adoptive parents need to be shielded from interference with the adoptive relationship by biological parents. Biological parents also must be assured that their privacy will not be disturbed. Finally, society's interest in providing children with substitute families through the adoption process, which may be damaged by disclosure, is of importance” ( Golan at 346 [internal citations omitted]; see also, Linda F.M. at 239; Walker at 361).
While the statute permits the unsealing of and access to adoption records where there is “good cause”, essentially “medical grounds” (Domestic Relations Law § 114[4] ), a showing of good cause requires that the applicant seeking access and inspection of the records submit certification from a New York physician establishing “that relief under this subdivision is required to address a serious physical or mental illness” ( id.). The rule allowing access to sealed adoption records for medical treatment reasons is contrary to the general rule providing for confidentiality, and the exception is to be strictly construed, as “[a] rule which automatically gave full disclosure to any adopted person confronted with a medical problem with some genetic implications would swallow New York's strong policy against disclosure as soon as adopted people approached middle age” ( Golan at 349; see also, Matter of Marino v. Department of Health, 291 A.D.2d 849, 850).
In this case Mr. X., now age 35, has been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent with Psychotic Features and Borderline Intellectual Functioning. Mr. X. receives weekly psychotherapy as well as a course of pharmacological treatment from Flushing Hospital. However, nothing in the letter from Mr. X.'s psychiatrist at Flushing Hospital states that the unsealing and inspection of the adoption records is required in order “to address a serious physical or mental illness” nor does the letter specify “the information required to address such illness” (Domestic Relations Law § 114 [4] ). The absence of a medical affidavit or certification setting forth the required information renders this application insufficient on its face, and requires that the application be denied ( Golan at 348; Matter of Donald W., 225 A.D.2d 701;Matter of Craig J.S.J., 309 A.D.2d 1284;Matter of Michael Z., 38 AD3d 912,lv denied8 NY3d 814;Matter of Nan FF., 63 AD3d 1213, 1214;Matter of Timothy AA., 72 AD3d 1390, 1391).
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED, that the application to unseal the adoption record is denied for the reasons stated herein.