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 Seventh District Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen disqualified
himself from the case and referred it to the court's presiding
judge, Mary Manley, according to a copy of the court order published
online by gay rights organization Equality Utah.
The licensed foster parents, Beckie Peirce and April Hoagland, had
cared for the 9-month-old girl since August, but Johansen last week
ordered state child welfare workers to remove the baby from the
couple's home because of their sexual orientation and find new
foster parents within seven days.
He later amended his ruling, dropping the removal order in favor of
a hearing to determine what was in the baby's best interest.
 "We are thankful that Judge Johansen has decided to step aside. Our
greatest concern now is taking care of our beautiful baby foster
daughter," Peirce and Hoagland said in a statement sent to Equality
Utah on Monday.
Earlier, the state Division of Child and Family Services, which
opposed the order, said the judge had cited unspecified research
that he said showed children were better off with heterosexual
parents.
News of Johansen's initial ruling angered gay rights and civil
liberties advocates. The national Human Rights Campaign on Monday
urged the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission to investigate the
judge's actions.
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Even Republican Governor Gary Herbert, who fought same-sex marriage
in his state until the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June
legalizing gay matrimony nationwide, said he was "puzzled" by the
judge's order.
The couple, licensed as foster parents earlier this year, are
already parents to Peirce's 12- and 14-year-old biological children
and said they were planning to adopt their foster child at the
request of the girl's biological mother, the Salt Lake Tribune and
other news media have reported.
(Reporting by Peg McEntee in Salt Lake City; Editing by Curtis
Skinner and Peter Cooney)
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