Court Refuses To Terminate Father's Parental Rights For Conviction of Multiple Felonies

Last week, the Court of Appeals held a father's conviction of multiple felonies does not serve as a sufficient basis to terminate his parental rights to his daughter.

In the case, a prospective adoptive family sought to have the biological father's parental rights terminated for committing multiple felonies. The biological father was convicted of burglary, attempted burglary, and drug possession.

The court first noted that the "termination of parental rights is 'a drastic remedy to be resorted to only in extreme cases." In order to terminate the father's parental rights, "there must be a nexus between the decision to terminate the parental rights...and the underlying facts of a parent's felony conviction." In other words, the statute is limited "to those situations where a parent commits a heinous felony offense, often against a family member, which in and of itself demonstrates that the parent will be forever unfit to have any measure of custody of his or her children." You can read the court's opinion here.