Court

Today was our court date. Adoptions here in Russia are closed hearings so the details are not allowed to be shared outside of the courtroom. We awoke early and ate breakfast before getting picked up at 9am. There was heavy snow today and our driver was a bit late because of the traffic. We still arrived at court at 9:30. There is a small lobby with a few rows of chairs where we waited to be called. Y and Y2 were both there along with a representative from the Ministry of Education and Science and a doctor from the orphanage. After a short wait we were escorted to the courtroom by the secretary.

The courtroom was a medium-sized room. There were two rows of seats at the rear of the room for observers. Immediately in front of these two rows was a set of three seats behind a table - this is where we sat with Y2 who translated for us. As we sat in our seats, to our left was a table with three chairs. Y, the Ministry representative and doctor sat here from our left to right. Immediately behind them was a cage which seemed to be used for criminal cases. As we faced forward there was a short wooden barrier that separated the public from the judicial workers. On the other side of the barrier to our right sat the prosecutor who faced left. She wore a blue uniform and was a young professional. Seated opposite to her on our left was the secretary. He was also a young professional and accepted the additional evidence to provided to the court. He had a laptop computer for some sort of notes. On the far side of the room directly in front of us was a raised platform. It was similar to the judge's seat in an American courtroom. There were three large chairs that looked like thrones. I joked to N that it reminded me of the High King Peter from the Chronicles of Narnia. The Russian flag was to the left of the judge and the Russian seal was fixed to the wall above the "thrones." The judge walked in and we stood to begin the proceeding. Generally there is an extended period of questioning to the father. Then there is a short time of questioning to the mother. Then the doctor speaks. After the doctor speaks the Ministry representative speaks of the parents' interactions with the child. After this is complete the judge takes time to make a decision.

Here is what we can tell you. We knew going in that we would have paperwork issues because of some documents with our home study agency. Last week before we left America World and our home study agency scrambled to get us additional documents. Y dropped these off yesterday hoping these would satisfy the judge. The good news is that this was a non-issue today. The bad news was that we were not approved by the court immediately.

After the hearing our facilitator raced to the orphanage to secure an additional document. During this time the next family had their hearing. We waited for at least another hour or so. Y returned and after the other couple was finished we returned back to the courtroom. The additional paperwork was submitted and we were asked to leave the courtroom while the judge considered all of the evidence.

After a minute or so passed we were asked to return to the courtroom. We stood at our seats while the judge read the ruling. Our petition to adopt was approved!

The adoption decree does not go into effect until the ten-day waiting period expires. At this point we will be able to share pictures and other information. The decree will be effective at the end of the day next Friday and we will be able to pick her up next Saturday. We are excited that our first trip to the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court was successful!

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:13-14