AN INDIANA SAGA CONTINUES

Evidently, Indiana has a mess on its hands. This man can seal the records until he is blue in the fact but come the fact when those girls turn 18 or 21. They will get those records. He will have to face tough questions. Do I think it was wise idea for him to adopt? No I don't because he is a sixty year old man. When those girls turn 18, he will be 78. I don't care if he had bird poop on his shoulder. I don't care if he is gay. He is probably not going to molest them if he is gay but is he fit enough to handle twin girls especially babies right now? That is where I doubt this. As far as the secrecy thing, it would be better for him if the records were opened so that the world knows that he is not some pervert or incapable of caring for these baby girls.

The saga continues in Indiana

NJ man wants adoption records sealed

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Star fights to open adoption court case

jon.murray@indystar.com

The attorney for a 60-year-old New Jersey man who adopted twin girls from Indiana has sought to formally seal a court case challenging that adoption.Last month The Indianapolis Star filed a petition to open records in the Indiana Court of Appeals case, which has been unavailable to the public because of Indiana's adoption secrecy law. The Indiana Department of Child Services is challenging Stephen F. Melinger's 2005 adoptions of the girls, who now are almost 2.
Steven C. Litz, Melinger's attorney, has not yet responded to the Star's petition. But he filed a separate motion Thursday seeking a court order to seal the case separately from the restrictions imposed by the adoption law, and also to seal all future court filings such as the Star's.The Star's petition said the public's interest would be served by making public the legal debate over whether the adoptions violated interstate laws and other restrictions."As this court is undoubtedly aware, the same day it filed the motion, the Star ran a front page story on the motion, again referring to confidential information that had been illegally provided to it," Melinger's motion says. "It then sought to justify opening this court's file by referring to the fact that there had been publicity about the case, publicity which it created by obtaining confidential records illegally. Such bootstrapping techniques should not be tolerated by this court..."Karen Zaria and Kathy Zee Melinger were born nearly two years ago to a South Carolina surrogate mother. Litz's Monrovia-based company arranged the adoption in Indiana. But the girls' adoptions by Melinger, a New Jersey teacher, ran into trouble after Marion County officials opened a child welfare investigation.Melinger had raised concerns among Methodist Hospital staff by showing up in the neonatal intensive-care unit to visit the newborns with a live bird in the left sleeve of his suit jacket and, later, bird feces on his clothing. Nurses also were concerned that he did not seem to know how to care for the children and planned to drive them back to New Jersey by himself.Last week, Litz testified during an Indiana House committee hearing that Melinger, a magician, had "made the disastrous decision" to enter the hospital with a pet dove. But Litz said home studies later found Melinger to be a suitable parent.