A judge accused of bias said Friday , November 14, he is stepping down from presiding over a case involving an American couple's attempt to adopt a Chinese girl against her parents' wishes.
The girl's natural parents, He Shaoqiang and Luo Qin, contend Judge D.J. Alissandratos has treated them unfairly, and their complaints have drawn the attention of the Chinese Embassy in Washington. The Hes have been barred from visiting their 4-year-old daughter, Anna Mae, for more than two years while foster parents Jerry and Louise Baker have been trying to adopt her.
The Chinese couple, struggling with financial hardships and a criminal charge, put Anna Mae in foster care shortly after her birth in 1999. Their repeated attempts over the past three years to get the child back have failed, and they now face possible deportation before regaining custody of the girl. (Source: Woody Baird, Associated Press, Nov. 15, 2003; supplied by Guy Wong).