Court Order Nixed in Case re Lawyer's Claimed $6K Baby-Purchase Offer
A judge in Utah has dismissed a protective order giving the state custody of a baby whose Arizona parents are accused of arranging to sell it for $6,000 to a local lawyer.
Because the infant hasn’t yet been born, the state has no jurisdiction, ruled 3rd District Juvenile Judge Jim Michie, overturning a Friday protective order granted by Judge Terry Christiansen. However, officials said they would continue to monitor the couple, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.
The case is based on allegations by a foster couple who are adopting three other children of Alison and Gary Stuckey. They contend that they offered to take the baby when they found out Alison Stuckey is pregnant again, but were told she’d located a lawyer in Salt Lake City who would pay $6,000 for the child, according to court documents.
The lawyer is not named in the article. However, an employee of the A Act of Love adoption agency said the baby is the subject of a legitimate adoption that has been planned for months, the newspaper reports.
“My client approached the birth mother and asked if they could also raise this unborn child once the child arrived, and the mother indicated she would love to have them raise the child, but she needed the money,” attorney Wesley Hutchins, who represents the foster family, tells the Deseret News.
Earlier coverage:
Salt Lake Tribune: “Judge orders couple not to sell baby”
