What procedural steps should an adult in California follow in order to obtain full access to complete and uncensored records of court proceedings (in Contra Costa County, in the early 1970s) that led to his or her custodial birth parent losing all legal parental rights, with the child being placed into foster care?
I think the key thing here is that the adult requesting the records is the same person as that child of long ago, so any legal arguments about protecting the child's privacy should not apply.
The adult wants to know in particular what the testimony was, what records were entered as evidence, and so on, to understand why the birth parent was ruled to be an unfit guardian.
Hi. Thanks for your question to Radical Reference.
It looks to me like California law does not allow the adopted person to get access to court records that include identifying information as to the birth parents. (For adoptions after 1984, identifying information can be obtained only with the consent of the birth parents; for adoptions before 1984, there is no way provided to get identifying information.) However, you may be able to get access to records with identifying information censored, which it sounds like might be what you want.
I am not a lawyer, however, and can not provide legal advice, this is just a summary of what I found on the websites below.
The California laws that govern adoption and disclosure of information can be found in Division 13 of the California Family Code, which you can look at here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=fam&codebody=&hits=20
[Or try this shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/ubzf ]
Specifically, Sections 9200-9206 are about "Disclosure of Information":
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=09001-10000&file=9200-9206
[Or try this shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/a4zqv ]
Sometimes it can be confusing to read the actual laws, but a useful summary of these laws can be found on "Tina's California Adoption Information Page":
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/9606/states/california.html
Specifically there are some addresses there for where to request non-identifying information. That page might also be helpful for connecting you to other people in the same situation in California.
Also, the National Adoption Information Center (part of the US Department of Health and Human Services) has several useful pamphlets on "Obtaining Birth or Adoption Records" here:
http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/adopted/obtain/index.cfm
Most of that information is a general overview of the laws in the entire country, but it might still be helpful as a general overview of how this stuff works. Some state-specific information is also available.
The Contra Costa County Superior Court's web site is at www.cc-courts.org. They provide access to some information online, but not adoption information. It looks like you can possibly request adoption information via mail:
http://www.cc-courts.org/civilcms.htm
For more information, you could try contacting the Contra Costa County Public Law Library:
http://www.cccpllib.org/
libinfo@ll.cccounty.us
A law librarian there (or at a public law library in your own location) may be able to give you more
information or tips for finding more information.
Thanks for contacting Radical Reference. I hope this information helps you get started. If we can be of additional help, please feel free to ask another question.