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Appeals court hears mother's challenge to post-trial placement and visitation after termination of parental rights
Summary
At oral argument, the mother's counsel conceded she was "unfit" at trial but urged the Appeals Court to remand because a post-trial placement change disrupted the adoption plan and raised fresh questions about visitation and the child's best interests; Department of Children and Families and the child's counsel urged waiver and reliance on trial findings.
Attorney Steve Rosenthal, arguing for the mother-appellant, told the Appeals Court, "May it please the court?" and acknowledged that "at the time of trial, she was unfit," while asking the panel to remand the case for two reasons, primarily that "the adoption plan approved by the trial judge has been disrupted." Rosenthal said the child had been in a specialized foster placement from "September 2020 to December 2023" and that, after trial, the child moved to a kinship placement with an aunt who had had only one visit during the case, which "calls into question the best interests" and the calculus for post-termination visitation.
The panel pressed counsel on whether appellate…
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