Did "Judge Harrison" surprise a 14-year-old named David by telling him that the court proceeding was not just another foster care placement, but that he was going to be adopted by a "Mr. and Mrs. Gable"? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story with no verifiable details. There is no public record including the three names from the story, and instances of the same story all appeared on social media in October and November 2025. The video showing the judge and boy is AI-generated, and the scenario - a teenage boy told he is about to be adopted by people he hardly knows - is not legally probable.
The touching and fake story appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook by Dailystories on Oct. 26, 2025. The post caption begins:
Judge Harrison had seen 14-year-old David's file cross his desk more times than he could count. "Failure to place," "Runaway risk," "Returned from foster home." For the last six months, after running away from a group home, David had been in a juvenile facility, wearing the standard-issue orange uniform.Today was supposed to be just another placement hearing. David stood before the judge, expecting to be told he was being moved to yet another facility.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot from facebook.com/reel/1209364067684242.)
The narrative lacks key verifiable details such as a place and a date. Lead Stories searched Google for ""Judge Harrison" AND David AND Gable AND adoption". This search (archived here) only returned links to duplicate copies of this social media post, but no real news stories about such an adoption.
State laws regarding adoptions from foster care vary, but when the child in question is not an infant, the consent of the biological parents and the consent of the child, with some exceptions, is typically required for the adoption process to move forward. The website adoptionnetwork.com has a page detailing the adoption consent laws by state (archived here). In the example for Alaska the portion on the child's consent says:
A child age 10 or older must consent to the adoption, unless, in the child's best interests, the court dispenses with consent.
This social media tale says that David has known the Gables for six months but had not lived with them. He is then blindsided right there in the courtroom with improbable news about finalizing his adoption:
"David," Judge Harrison said, looking over his glasses. "I see here you've had a regular visitor for the last six months. A Mr. and Mrs. Gable."David tensed. The Gables were an older couple who had volunteered as mentors at the facility. They brought him books and just... talked to him. He figured they were just another assignment."Well," the judge continued, "it seems they've filed some extensive paperwork." He paused, then took off his glasses. "David, they're not here today as mentors. They're here to finalize your adoption. This is your last day in the system."
