Labels: Kalamazoo County, Michigan, paternity, Paternity Appeal, standing
The case of Barnes v. Jeudevine came out last summer, but is still worthy of discussion. The Supreme Court hotly debated this paternity appeal. I particularly admire Justice Markman's dissenting opinion. The Court held that the biological father of a child did not have standing to sue for paternity, even though he and the mother had signed an acknowledgment of paternity and even though he was the only father the child had ever known. The case also raises interesting questions about default judgments in the divorce context.
