IN RE ALIYA RENEE FLETCHER MINOR
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
__________________________________________
In the Matter of ALIYA R. FLETCHER, Minor.
FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY,
UNPUBLISHED
June 10, 1997
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 196731
Wayne Probate Court
LC No. 93-311842
FLOYD KNOX,
Respondent-Appellant.
Before: Saad, P.J., and Hood and McDonald, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Respondent appeals as of right from the probate court order terminating his parental rights to
the minor child under MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i), (g) and (h); MSA 27.3178(598.19b)(3)(c)(i), (g) and
(h). We affirm.
Although the probate court clearly erred in stating that respondent failed to visit or plan for his
child before he was imprisoned, inasmuch as the evidence established that respondent has been
continuously incarcerated since before his child’s birth, the probate court also indicated that
respondent’s imprisonment, by itself, served as an independent basis for termination. In light of the
evidence of the length of respondent’s incarceration, the age of the minor child, the absence of any
relationship between respondent and his child, and the testimony that respondent’s earliest possible out
date would be June 18, 1998, the probate court did not clearly err in finding that the statutory grounds
for termination were established by clear and convincing evidence. MCR 5.974(I); In re Miller, 433
Mich 331, 337; 445 NW2d 161 (1989). Further, respondent failed to show that termination of his
parental rights was clearly not in the child’s best interest. In re Hall-Smith, ___ Mich App ___; ___
NW2d ___ (Docket No. 195833, issued 3/25/97), slip op p 3. Thus, the probate court did not err in
terminating respondent’s parental rights to the child. MCL 712A.19b(5); MSA 27.3178(598.19b)(5).
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Affirmed.
/s/ Henry William Saad
/s/ Harold Hood
/s/ Gary R. McDonald
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