A member would like to ask if someone who practices in Missouri could talk to me about obtaining adoption records for use in a cold murder case investigation. His Sheriff is investigating a 1994 murder of an unidentified victim. Detectives are working with the DNA Doe Project and have an idea who that victim may be. They are now trying to verify the identity through Genetic Genealogy. The person they believe to be the deceased John Doe was adopted in Missouri and his birth certificate only lists his adoptive parents. Their cold case detectives submitted a request to the Jackson County court in Kansas City to obtain information about the biological parents to try to obtain a genetic profile from the biological family. The request was denied by the court because, under Missouri law, only the adopted child or their descendants can request that information. That, of course, is not an option in our case because the adopted child is the murder victim. The statute (revisor.mo.gov/453.121<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__revisor.mo.gov_main_OneSection.aspx-3Fsection-3D453.121&d=DwMFAg&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=nIGEovRo_H4MoA0s8lF2YZ30Z9FvFJNoVAV7tSgWGTs&m=ggdiNDEGxp-ddIAW_0P2vRxxsdGt0cVQYWFObrYmKlELhwWNRWXLgVBxjgUMgKR4&s=308kx6loZZvWMfz5DB6XKCDdMxpVGBLmOdE2UzKVVPA&e=>) does not appear to have any option to release adoption records to law enforcement for investigative purposes. Their Sheriff’s Office is wondering if there is any viable path to appeal the court’s denial, or if this marks the end of the inquiry? Please contact Joshua Myers at Joshua.Myers@sonoma-county.org with your responses. Thank you, Deanna [logo]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__imla.org_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=nIGEovRo_H4MoA0s8lF2YZ30Z9FvFJNoVAV7tSgWGTs&m=eynONViXLcfcYKxfzuY-I1UwWZhV4a7HFqslKZRU903cwqnii4Z-duPC9pgZVNjl&s=CKWQjgQD4OhJCcsR7Xmfr21mA6qXhtMPdcL030OI9ho&e=> [facebook icon]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=nIGEovRo_H4MoA0s8lF2YZ30Z9FvFJNoVAV7tSgWGTs&m=eynONViXLcfcYKxfzuY-I1UwWZhV4a7HFqslKZRU903cwqnii4Z-duPC9pgZVNjl&s=NSvtCEdU4eD9bnjIImzI6Dt7ewOiwbL-JMnYvtR7_64&e=>[twitter icon]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_imlalegal&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=nIGEovRo_H4MoA0s8lF2YZ30Z9FvFJNoVAV7tSgWGTs&m=eynONViXLcfcYKxfzuY-I1UwWZhV4a7HFqslKZRU903cwqnii4Z-duPC9pgZVNjl&s=iKM3vVILLFndoeRE3r-BDw37EwjZ9HIptTfTTzM-ugM&e=>[linkedin icon]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_company_international-2Dmunicipal-2Dlawyers-2Dassociation-2Dinc._&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=nIGEovRo_H4MoA0s8lF2YZ30Z9FvFJNoVAV7tSgWGTs&m=eynONViXLcfcYKxfzuY-I1UwWZhV4a7HFqslKZRU903cwqnii4Z-duPC9pgZVNjl&s=xZuBCfSMChmH_5tE7ASqe8niFvzVL4bDGy6wpYpKmgk&e=> Deanna Shahnami (she/her) Assistant General Counsel, Director of DEI International Municipal Lawyers Association P: (202) 466-5424 x7105 D: (202) 742-1019 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 Plan Ahead! See IMLA’s upcoming events<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__imla.org_events_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=nIGEovRo_H4MoA0s8lF2YZ30Z9FvFJNoVAV7tSgWGTs&m=eynONViXLcfcYKxfzuY-I1UwWZhV4a7HFqslKZRU903cwqnii4Z-duPC9pgZVNjl&s=GnfvwTUozLbwDVoOVXxHCYG7RP_OsIzD41YbS6myJUM&e=>, calls and programming.