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''In re Guardianship of Kowalski'', 478 N.W.2d 790 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991), is a Minnesota Court of Appeals case that established a lesbian's partner as her legal guardian after she became incapacitated following an automobile accident. Because the case was contested by Kowalski's parents and family and initially resulted in the partner being excluded for several years from visiting Kowalski, the gay community celebrated the final resolution in favor of the partner as a victory for gay rights. ==Facts and prior history== Sharon Kowalski, a high school teacher of physical education and health, lived with her partner, Karen Thompson (born 1947), in St. Cloud, Minnesota, for about four years. Though Kowalski's parents were not aware of the relationship at the time, the couple had exchanged rings and named one another as insurance policy beneficiaries. On November 13, 1983, Kowalski suffered severe brain injuries in an automobile accident involving a drunk driver. The injuries left Kowalski with permanent physical disabilities, requiring her to remain in a wheelchair, and the mental capacity of a four- to six-year-old child. Both Thompson and Sharon Kowalski's father, Donald Kowalski, petitioned to be named Sharon Kowalski's legal guardian in March 1984. With the understanding that she would have visitation rights, Thompson agreed that Donald Kowalski would be named Sharon Kowalski's guardian. The court's guardianship order, issued in July 1985, gave Donald complete control over visitation. On July 25, 1985, Donald cut off Thompson's visitation rights and moved Sharon from a nursing home near Thompson's home to one a five-hour drive away. Thompson appealed the order, but the appellate court initially affirmed the order, citing testimony by Sharon's family and nursing home staff that Sharon seemed depressed and sad after her visits with Thompson and postulating that it would be in Kowalski's best interest to discontinue Thompson's visits. Ina latter to the court, the Kowalski's family physician wrote: "Visits by Karen Thompson at this time would expose Sharon Kowalski to a high risk of sexual abuse."〔 Donlad Kowalski told an interviewer: "Karen Thompson kicked herself out of there by being so aggressive and by driving Sharon into a deep depression. She told Sharon she was being held prisoner, that she was in a dangerous environment. If you couldn't talk and you were lying there, wouldn't that put you in a depression?" He denied his daughter was a lesbian.〔 Several gay rights and civil liberties groups joined Thompson in her efforts to reestablish her visitation rights and acquire guardianship. Public awareness of the case was increased by local and international publicity, including fundraising concerts by lesbian singer and songwriter Ann Reed. Events in 21 cities marked "National Free Sharon Kowalski Day" in August 1988. Thomas B. Stoddard, executive director of the Lambda Legal, an LGBT gay rights advocacy group, commented: "there is no other case that approaches this one in symbolic importance". He said the case "has touched the deepest nerve in the gay community across the United States because it triggers the two deepest fears of every gay person: a fight among loved ones and denial of personal wishes." In May 1988, a federal judge asked specialists to conduct a study of Sharon to determine whether she had sufficient mental capacity to express her wishes with regard to visitation, and, if so, to determine what her wishes were. During that evaluation process, Thompson was allowed to visit Sharon for the first time in several years. The Miller-Dwan Medical Center specialists determined that Sharon did have the capacity to do so, and based on their understanding of Sharon's wishes Thompson was allowed to resume limited visitation in January 1989. In March 1989, Thompson published a book about her experience with co-author Dr. Julie Andrzejewski, titled ''Why Can't Sharon Kowalski Come Home?'' In late 1988, because of his deteriorating health, Donald Kowalski asked the court appoint a new guardian. Thompson filed an uncontested petition to be named Sharon's successor guardian in August 1989. A hearing on the petition was held in August 1990. Because a Kowalski family friend, Karen Tomberlin, had contacted Sharon's attorney requesting to testify against Thompson's guardianship, the court deferred consideration of Thomson's guardianship petition until it could conduct an evidentiary hearing. At that hearing, Thompson called sixteen medical witnesses who testified about Sharon's mental state, her interaction with Thompson, and her preference in regard to visitation. Three witnesses opposed to Thompson's guardianship; Sharon's sister, Tomberlin, and another family friend, also testified. Donald Kowalski told the court that he and his wife would not visit their daughter if Thompson became guardian. Judge Robert Campbell of the St. Louis County District Court in Duluth, Minnesota, denied Thompson's petition on April 19, 1991, and named Tomberlin as Sharon's guardian. He wrote that Thompson "has demonstrated commitment and devotion to the welfare of Sharon Kowalski" and that he recognized her contributions to Sharon's therapy and counseling and understanding of her "medical, material and social needs." He stated Sharon Kowalski's own wishes: "In the past two years, when asked where she would like to live, Sharon has consistently said, 'St. Cloud with Karen.'" He counted against Thompson's petition her disclosure of Sharon's sexual orientation "to Sharon's parents and the world without Sharon's consent" and the fact that Thompson had established "other domestic partnerships" since Sharon's accident. Thomas B. Stoddard, executive director of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, called the decision "a deep offense not only to all lesbians and gay men, but to all Americans who choose their partners and households by their own terms and not the legal rules imposed by society." He said: "Sharon chose her family. But the judge doesn't agree, so he imposed his own vision on her."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「In re Guardianship of Kowalski」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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