Opinion
1140191.
2015-01-30
Ex parte R.G. (In re R.G. v. Limestone County Department of Human Resources).
Michael C. Sizemore of The Sizemore Law Group, Athens, for petitioner. Submitted on certiorari petition only.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Civil Appeals (Limestone Juvenile Court, JU–12–145.02, Jeanne W. Anderson, J.; Court of Civil Appeals, 2130582).
Michael C. Sizemore of The Sizemore Law Group, Athens, for petitioner. Submitted on certiorari petition only.
BRYAN, Justice.
WRIT DENIED. NO OPINION. STUART, BOLIN, PARKER, MURDOCK, SHAW, MAIN, and WISE, JJ., concur.
MOORE, C.J., dissents.
MOORE, Chief Justice (dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. The Limestone Juvenile Court terminated the parental rights of R.G., the petitioner, who challenges Alabama courts' use of the ore tenus standard of review in termination-of-parental-rights cases. Judge Moore discussed this issue thoroughly in his special concurrence in J.C. v. State Department of Human Resources, 986 So.2d 1172, 1197–1202 (Ala.Civ.App.2007) (analyzing Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982), which adopted the clear-and-convincing evidence standard of proof in termination-of-parental-rights cases). Judge Moore concluded that the “constitutional concerns implicated in every termination-of-parental-rights case command stricter scrutiny than the ore tenus rule provides.” 986 So.2d at 1199. I agree with Judge Moore's constitutional concerns about the standard of review in termination-of-parental-rights cases; therefore, I would grant the petition and ask the parties to submit additional briefs regarding the constitutionality of the ore tenus standard of review in such cases.