Michigan Appeals Court says trial court cannot refuse to hear lesbian mother's custody case

An interesting article on a recent Michigan Court of Appeals custody decision can be found here.

The article notes:

On Feb. 19, the Michigan State Court of Appeals held that a Michigan family court cannot refuse to hear a child custody case simply because it involves children whose parents are lesbians, ruling that there is no gay exception to Michigan's child custody laws.

The majority opinion said: "The question is really whether Michigan's legal framework for protecting and promoting the best interests and welfare of the children within its jurisdiction excludes children with a parent or parents who could not have adopted them under Michigan law. We conclude that it does not....The only relevant consideration in this matter is each individual party's established relationship as an adoptive parent with the children, not their relationship with each other."