Custody battle for Anna Mae He

Anna Mae He (simplified Chinese: 贺梅; traditional Chinese: 賀梅; pinyin: Hè Méi, born January 28, 1999 in the United States), has been the subject of a custody battle between her Chinese biological parents, Shaoqiang (Jack) He (贺绍强) and Qin Luo "Casey" He (罗秦), and her foster parents, Jerry and Louise Baker. The case has received national media attention for years and has revolved around the claim of Jerry and Louise Baker that Jack and Casey He abandoned their rights to the child when they signed a temporary custody order.

Beginning of the story

Anna Mae He's father, Jack, came to the United States in 1995 on a student visa and attended Arizona State. In 1997 he enrolled in University of Memphis, receiving a scholarship and a stipend for work as a graduate assistant. Anna Mae's mother, Casey, obtained a visa as Jack's wife and shortly after coming to the United States became pregnant with Anna Mae. During the pregnancy, Jack was accused of sexual assault by a fellow student six days after the reported event in October 1998. The University conducted an investigation of the alleged assault and determined the woman had bruises on her thighs, was living with a male friend of her husband, and that no one saw Jack or the alleged victim together at the time and location in question. Despite the lack of incriminating evidence, Jack He's graduate assistant position was terminated by the school, resulting in the loss of his stipend and health insurance. Jack He was charged with attempted rape, but was acquitted by a jury in February 2002. Later during the pregnancy, the couple was involved in an altercation with the alleged rape victim and the alleged victim's husband in a grocery store. Casey was knocked down and suffered vaginal bleeding. Her condition worsened afterwards until Anna was delivered by C-section two months later. Faced with a $12,000 hospital bill and a criminal charge with no stable income, the couple sought help from Mid-South Christian Services which agreed to place the baby in a foster home with Jerry and Louise Baker for three months. During this time Jack He was arrested for the previous sexual assault accusation, which caused the loss of his new job. With only Casey's income as a waitress to survive on, the Hes' searched for someone to take Anna Mae back to China to be cared for by relatives but were unable to find anyone.

Disagreement

Unable to financially care for Anna Mae, the Hes decided to let her remain in the Bakers' custody. The Bakers expressed interest in adopting Anna Mae but the Hes were unwilling. An agreement was reached that would give the Bakers temporary custody and let the Hes retain parental right. The Bakers claim there was also an oral agreement that the Bakers would raise Anna Mae until she is eighteen years old. But the Hes contend that they did not agree to this and that the arrangement was only temporary. A juvenile court officer's testimony supports the Hes' claim.

On June 2, 1999, Jack He and the Bakers meet with a Mid-South Christian Services attorney. In the meeting, the attorney told Jack it would be necessary to go to court to regain custody if all parties did not agree to a change in custody.

On June 4, 1999, the Hes and the Bakers went to the Shelby County Juvenile Court to obtain the consent order transferring custody to the Bakers. Unknown to either parties the juvenile court officer typed a guardianship provision into the consent order. Because Casey He did not speak or read English very well, she was unable to read the documents and had to rely on an interpreter for their meaning. Three witnesses, including the interpreter, reported that Casey was very concerned that the Bakers' custody of Anna Mae be temporary. The juvenile court officer testified that she was "adamant that at some point she wanted her child back." She was told that signing the consent order was necessary for Anna Mae to obtain health insurance and the interpreter testified that she signed the order believing custody to be temporary.

The Hes continued to visit Anna Mae regularly for about an hour a week. Louise Baker began to keep a diary in which she documented the Hes' visits to Anna Mae, writing down when the visits were, how long they lasted, how the Hes interacted with Anna Mae, and what gifts they gave her. In October 1999, friction began when the Hes wanted to take Anna Mae out of the Bakers' home and the Bakers refused. Louise Baker wrote "We would like to get visits to every other week. We feel like they would wean away, but the last 2 visits we could see Casey is wanting to come more." In November 1999, Jack He told Jerry Baker they wanted to regain custody of Anna Mae. Jerry replied that they did not want to give up Anna Mae and that Louise was pregnant and he didn't want her to miscarry. The Hes contacted the juvenile court officer several times during these months complaining about problems with visitation and talking about wanting to get custody back.

In May 2000. the Hes petitioned the Juvenile Court for custody. The petition was denied.

Jack finds work in Georgia and Casey continued to visit Anna Mae until one day she refused to leave the Bakers' home and the police are called. Jack quit his job in Georgia after the Bakers tell him that Casey is not allowed to visit Anna Mae by herself.

The Hes continued to visit Anna Mae until 2001-01-28 when an argument occurred at the Bakers' home. The Hes wanted to take Anna Mae to a photography studio for a family portrait on her second birthday, but the Bakers refused. The Bakers subsequently called the police. The Hes were told that they could not return to the Bakers home. The police officer later testified that he could not remember if he said they could not return to the Bakers house that day but the Hes believed they could not return to the Bakers home at all. The Hes did not see Anna Mae again.

The Hes contacted the Juvenile Court about regaining custody and in April 2001 filed to regain custody but since only Casey signed, the petition is refiled on May 29. A hearing was set for June 6 but was rescheduled to June 22 so the Bakers' lawyer could attend. Meanwhile the Bakers are advised by their attorney to file to revoke the Hes' parental rights. On 2001-06-20, four months and five days after the January argument, they filed a petition for adoption and termination of parental rights in the Chancery Court of Shelby County. This halts the Hes' petition in juvenile court and transfers the case to chancery court.

Case history

In May 2000, Hes petition Juvenile Court for custody of Anna Mae. The petition was denied.

In April 2001, Hes petition Juvenile Court for custody of Anna Mae.

In June 2001, Bakers petition Chancery Court to adopt Anna Mae citing abandonment and lack of financial support from Hes.

In May 2004 after a 10 day trial, Judge Robert L. Childers, a Tennessee circuit judge, terminated Hes' parental rights on grounds of willful abandonment, despite Hes' persistent effort to get custody back via Juvenile Court. This decision was later affirmed by a majority in the Tennessee Court of Appeals on 2005-11-23. Hes subsequently appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

In October 2006, Hes argue at the Tennessee Supreme Court that the trial court erred in terminating their parental rights. They contend that the facts do not support a finding of willful abandonment, as their repeated effort to seek custody via juvenile court was a clear attempt to visit Anna Mae. After the oral argument, the Hes submitted a motion pro se to the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking the high Court to rule on the custody issue directly. On how to interpret the word "temporary", in their pro se motion to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Hes maintained that the temporary nature of the custody arrangement hinged on the temporary nature of the hardship they experienced at the time of the arrangement. Therefore, the Hes argue that they have superior parental rights over the custody dispute, as the exception laid out in a landmark Tennessee Supreme Court decision (Blair v. Badenhope) should apply.

In January 2007, the Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, authored by Chief Justice William M. Barker, reversed the ruling by the state Court of Appeals and ordered that Anna Mae He be returned to her biological parents. In its ruling, the Court said, "We hold that the parents of Anna Mae He did not voluntarily transfer custody and guardianship of Anna Mae He to the Bakers with knowledge of the consequences and, therefore are entitled to superior rights to custody." and "the evidence does not support a 'willful failure to visit' as a ground for abandonment." The case must now cycle back through the Shelby County Chancery Court as the process of returning the child to her biological parents begins. The Bakers will have to pay all legal fees, according to the opinion.

After the judgment was entered, on 2007-02-02, the Bakers motioned the Tennessee Supreme Court to rehear the case and stay the custody transfer. The Tennessee Supreme Court promptly denied both motions on 2007-02-09 and ordered the Bakers to pay costs "for which execution may issue if necessary". Immediately thereafter, the Bakers petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the transfer of custody. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Bakers' requests on 2007-02-12, thus putting an end to the legal battle for custody.

Transfer of custody

After the final decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court, Anna Mae He is to be returned to her biological parents. The Bakers do not have any residual rights over Anna Mae. The process is to be supervised by the Tennessee Juvenile Court.

On 2007-02-21, the Bakers released videos of Anna Mae, showing what Baker interpreted as Anna Mae He's rejection of her Chinese heritage, saying she "never" wants to go to China. She won't eat Chinese food anymore, and tells people that she's Mexican. According to a report from USA Today dated 2007-02-21, Jerry Baker paid Anna Mae $5 for each question she answered, such as "Where do you want to grow up United States or China?" and "What do you want your last name to be, Baker or He?". The USA Today article noted that she refused to answer the question of whether she wants her last name to be "He" or "Baker". Juvenile Court Judge Curtis Person expressed displeasure that Anna Mae was exposed to this media coverage in the Bakers' home, and may issue a gag order if it continued.

Anna Mae had her first visit with the He family on 2007-03-15. It was a two-hour visit at an undisclosed location that included a court-appointed psychologist. Judge Curtis Person has said that the psychologist will be responsible for arranging a series of meetings over a period of four weeks, with the visits increasing in duration and frequency. According to Jack He, the first meeting proceeded much better than he and Casey He expected, and that Anna Mae was not crying, upset, or hostile. A second meeting took place on 2007-03-18, also at an undisclosed location.

External links

• "The He Family", Kidjacked.com, Retrieved on 23-02-2007.
• Timeline of events, May 1998 to March 2004, 03-03-2004. Retrieved on 18-02-2007.
• Detailed case history with relevant legal documents

See Also

• Elián González