New York Court of Appeals
In the Matter of Spence-Chapin Adoption Service v. Herbert Polk, the People of the State of New York ex rel. Leo H…
September 23, 197129 N.Y.2d 196
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division, holding that the mother retained custody of her child because the State lacks authority to remove a child absent abandonment, a statutory surrender, or a finding of unfitness, and that the Commissioner’s consent restored the mother’s untrammeled custody, leaving the foster parents without any right to adopt.