M.K. v. Marion County Dep’t of Child Servs. & Child Advocates, Inc.
Annotate this CaseSeventeen-year-old J.K. and her mother lived with J.D.’s maternal grandmother. In 2013, the Marion County Department of Child Services (DCS) initiated CHINS proceedings over J.K. Father, whose divorce with Mother was pending, denied that J.K. was in need of services. After two hearings, during which the trial court made several derogatory remarks about the parties and the nature of their dispute, the court pressured Father to waive his right to a fact-finding hearing and to instead admit that his daughter was a child in need of services (CHINS). The Supreme Court reversed the CHINS adjudication, holding that the cumulative effect of the trial court’s comments and demeanor had a direct impact on Father accepting the court’s suggestion to “waive fact-finding,” and such coercion is fundamental error.
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