In re Termination of Parental Rights of John & Jane Doe
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John Doe (Father) and Jane Doe (Mother) appeal from an order terminating their parental rights. The two appellants have three children together, and Mother has an additional child with another man. The magistrate terminated the parental rights of both parents as to all children, holding that both Father and Mother neglected the children and that termination was in the children’s best interest. In 2009, Mother was arrested for possession of methamphetamine. The arresting officer declared all four children in imminent danger and took them into protective custody. The children have been in State custody ever since. In June 2010, the State petitioned for termination of Mother's and Father's parental rights. The State's petition contended that both Mother and Father neglected the children: Mother, because she failed to complete a scheduled child protective case plan; Father, because he was incarcerated and unable to provide for the children. Mother stipulated "that she had put forth very little, if any, effort to comply with the … case plan prior to the time the State filed its petition to terminate her parental rights in this matter." In its memorandum decision, the court weighed the trial evidence and ultimately determined that Father and Mother neglected their children and that termination of their parental rights was in the children’s best interest. Both parents timely appealed. Upon review, the issue before the Supreme Court was whether there was substantial, competent evidence to support the magistrate judge's decision to terminate Mother’s and Father’s parental rights, and whether, as Mother argued, the State was estopped from seeking to terminate her rights. Because there was substantial and competent evidence to support the magistrate's findings that the children were neglected and that termination of his rights was in their best interest, the Supreme Court "[would] not disturb those findings."
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