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Appeals panel hears whether a 12‑year‑old’s stated preference can decide termination of parental rights
Summary
On appeal in Department of Children and Families v. Father, counsel sparred over whether a 12‑year‑old’s expressed wish to cut ties with her father may be given dispositive weight in a termination‑of‑parental‑rights ruling; DCF urged the panel to uphold termination based on the father’s history of violence and the child’s safety concerns.
An appellate panel heard oral argument in Department of Children and Families v. Father over whether a trial court improperly relied on a 12‑year‑old child’s statements in terminating a father’s parental rights.
Attorney Laura Lo, representing the appellant father, told the court she would focus on whether a judge should defer to a 12‑year‑old’s expressed preference in a termination proceeding. Lo said the trial court “introduced its findings with this statement that the child in the case currently hates and fears her father and wants nothing to do with him,” and argued that placing that language at the start of the findings signaled that the child’s preference had been given determinative weight rather than being one factor among many.
Lo urged the panel to treat the child’s…
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