Dept. of Health & Welfare v. Jane Doe (2016-14)
Annotate this CaseThis appeal arises from a magistrate court’s judgment terminating the parent-child relationship between Appellant Jane Doe (Doe) and her child, M.R. Doe turned eighteen while in foster care, aging out of the system. Doe gave birth to M.R. in 2011 and began living with M.R. in a separate residence on her parents’ property. In August of 2012, Doe was arrested for aggravated assault. M.R. was sixteen months old at the time of Doe’s arrest. Upon her incarceration, Doe “signed over temporary guardianship” of M.R. to her parents. Doe was eventually sentenced to serve five years, with two years fixed, and the court retained jurisdiction. Doe was unsuccessful on her rider, and in June of 2014 the district court relinquished jurisdiction because of Doe’s “aggressive behavior” while in prison. Doe testified that the earliest date that she might be released was May of 2017. At that time, M.R. would be six years old. He had not been in Doe’s care since her arrest. In October of 2014, M.R. came into the care of the Department of Health and Welfare because of physical abuse of another child in Doe’s parents’ home. On November 12, 2015, the Department filed a Petition for Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship. Following a hearing on March 21, 2016, the magistrate court found that the Department had met its burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, two grounds upon which termination could be granted: (1) neglect, due to Doe’s failure to comply with her case plan; and (2) Doe’s incarceration for a substantial portion of M.R.’s minority. The magistrate court further found, again by clear and convincing evidence, that termination of Doe’s parental rights was in M.R.’s best interests. Doe timely appealed. The Supreme Court found that substantial and competent evidence supported the magistrate court’s finding that termination was in M.R.’s best interests. However, the Court found that the magistrate court’s decision that Doe had been and was likely to be incarcerated for a substantial period of M.R.’s minority applied an erroneous legal standard. The judgment terminating Doe's parental rights was vacated and the case remanded for further proceedings.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.