Case Update
Case Status: Victory. The Court held that the trial court’s termination of the father’s rights was clear error.
Department of Human Services re Zoey and Lyric Mays v. Phillips
- Categories:
- Child Protection Law
Michigan Supreme Court restores father's rights
Today the Michigan Supreme Court, in the case In re Mays, agreed with CIR and reversed the termination of a Michigan father’s parental rights. In the trial court that heard the case initially, the termination of the father’s rights had stemmed from the neglectful conduct of the children’s mother; she had left the children home unattended. At the time, the father did not live with the mother, and he had nothing to do with the mother’s neglect. Nevertheless, despite the lack of any finding that the father himself was an unfit parent, the trial court terminated his rights.
CIR filed an amicus brief before the Michigan Supreme Court in the case. We argued that one parent’s rights should never be terminated based solely on the conduct of the other parent. Today, in a victory for CIR, the Court held that the trial court’s termination of the father’s rights was clear error.
- Read the Michigan Supreme Court’s order