Noah Kirkman

Noah Kirkman is a ten year old Canadian citizen with ADHD, who was held in the U.S. state of Oregon for 2 years, following a court ruling. He was placed in a foster home by the Oregon local authorities while on vacation in 2008.
Noah was in Oakridge spending time with his stepfather, John Kirkman, who had raised him since he was a toddler. Noah’s mother Lisa Kirkman stayed behind at home in Canada but provided her husband with a note permitting him to care for their son.
During his stay Oregon police stopped Noah, who was riding his bike without a helmet. Due to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder he had trouble answering their questions.
The authorities looked into his background and found a social services file open in Canada and that he was in the U.S. without his mother, his legal guardian. Noah was taken into custody to protect his welfare.
U.S. officials did not talk about the case, citing state and federal privacy rules and the Canadian government did not support the famly.
The family and their lawyer, Tony Merchant, contested the decision through Oregon’s Lane County Circuit Court, and in the U.S. federal court through a Hague Convention application that deals with child abduction in foreign countries. The latter requires by international law that governments hand over children to their place of usual residence to decide what is in the child’s best interests.

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