Adoption ruling stings family

A Largo couple prepares for a final effort to try to keep the child's biological father from taking him back.

By MICHAEL SANDLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 2, 2002

LARGO -- Praying for a family, Jim and Sandra Mills of Largo heard through their church about a pregnant girl in Alabama who wanted to give up her baby.

The Millses adopted the olive-skinned newborn with curly black hair in 1999. They named him Andrew.

They never anticipated the baby's biological father would want the boy back.

Last week, after a 38-month legal battle, the Alabama Supreme Court overturned two lower courts and ordered the boy returned to his birth father.

"Our hearts are truly broken, thinking he will not be a part of our lives," said Sandra Mills, 40. "We feel like God gave us this child. We did not go looking for him. We do feel he is better off being here than being there."

The Millses, who lost their first child to a heart defect in 1998, say losing Andrew will be even worse.

"We lost a 51/2-month-old infant, which is nothing like losing a son who talks and has a personality," she said.

Andrew was born on July 6, 1999. His biological parents, both 17 at the time, had dated but were not together at the time of the birth, according to court testimony.

The baby's father, Fernando Pickett, never tried to support the mother emotionally or financially during the pregnancy, said attorney John Nichols, who represents the Millses.

That, Mills argued, means that Pickett gave his implied consent to the adoption.

Pickett testified that he did not provide support for the mother during her pregnancy because she did not ask for it, court records show. He said he never agreed to the adoption.

Pickett, who is black, told the court the mother, who is white, was pressured to give up the bi-racial boy in a town that frowned on their relationship.

Pickett could not be reached for comment for this story. His family referred all questions to an attorney, A. Wesley Pitters, who did not return calls to his Montgomery office.

The Millses took custody of Andrew on July 12, 1999, and brought him to Florida.

In April 2000, after a paternity test proved he was the father, Pickett filed a motion to dismiss the adoption.

Before a hearing, Pickett's attorney called the Millses in Largo to request a visit with Andrew. Sandra Mills' mother answered the phone and asked him to call back later, the Millses say.

"They had not tried to call before," said Sandra Mills. "We were scared to death. Waited all weekend for them to show up on our doorstep. They never called back."

At the April hearing, Pickett told the court the woman who answered the phone told him he could not see the child.

The juvenile court ruled in favor of the Millses, and an appellate court upheld the decision a year later.

But on Feb. 22, the Supreme Court ruled that Pickett did not abandon the child and did not give consent for adoption. With a 6-3 decision, the highest court reversed the lower courts' rulings and remanded the case back to the lower courts.

Now, Nichols is preparing a last-ditch appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court. But he knows it's a long shot.

"The Millses are just fine people, and (Andrew) has a home," said Nichols. "How will this affect him if we are not successful getting the Supreme Court to change their decision?"

The Millses continue to care for Andrew as Nichols prepares for the last round of the fight.

In fact, the Millses have welcomed another family member. Sandra Mills gave birth in June 2001 to a daughter, Rebecca.

But the couple can't bear the thought of giving up Andrew.

"I think the cause of adoption is hurt tremendously," Sandra Mills said. "People can't just come back and change their mind."

-- Michael Sandler can be reached at 445-4174 or sandler@sptimes.com.

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