Family Law, Lawsuit of the Day, Pregnancy / Paternity, Sex

Lawsuit of the Day: Identical Twins in Paternity Fight

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Readers of ATL disagree vehemently over the existence of God. But if God does exist, he has a delightfully sick sense of humor. From ABC News:

Twin brothers Raymon and Richard Miller are the father and uncle to a 3-year-old little girl. The problem is, they don’t know which is which. Or who is who. The identical Missouri twins say they were unknowingly having sex with the same woman. And according to the woman’s testimony, she had sex with each man on the same day. Within hours of each other.

When the woman in question, Holly Marie Adams, got pregnant, she named Raymon the father, but he contested and demanded a paternity test, bringing his own brother Richard to court.

But a paternity test in this case could not help. The test showed that both brothers have over a 99.9 percent probability of being the daddy— and neither one wants to pay the child support. The result of the test has not only brought to light the limits of DNA evidence, it has also led to a three-year legal battle, a Miller family feud and a little girl who may never know who her real father is.

Très trashy — but there’s an actual legal issue here. How was it decided?
Find out, after the jump.


Here’s what the trial court decided:

Judge Fred Copeland ruled that even in light of the identical DNA tests and overlapping relationships, Raymon would remain the legal father of the child. Raymon hopes to continue appealing the decision….

[Copeland] notes that as the judge in the case, he does not have to depend solely on DNA evidence and can rule based on the testimony of Adams as well — who believes she can nail down the date of conception to a night spent with Raymon.

Fair enough. But we like the rough justice of this approach:

[Forensic scientist Dr. Bob Gaensslen] has his own suggestion as to who should be paying [the child support]. “Split it down the middle,” he told ABC News. “They both played, so they should both pay.”

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Who’s Your Daddy? Paternity Battle Between Brothers [ABC News]

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