Appellate Court: Parents Deserve an Impartial Judge and Fair Trial Before Terminating Parental Rights

When the Whole Court Can’t Be Trusted

by Michael Ramey
Executive Director – Parentalrights.org

Excerpts:

A recent case out of Washington state was so egregious the appellate court not only rejected it, but sent it back to be heard again—in a different county.

Generally, when a case is appealed, the appellate court will either uphold the original decision or “remand” it, meaning they send it back for a do-over, with special instructions from the higher court.

But this case required the court to come up with a whole new option.

“The right to a fair trial before an impartial tribunal is a basic requirement of due process,” Justice Smith wrote for a unanimous Court of Appeals for the State of Washington. “The right to due process is especially critical in a proceeding to terminate parental rights, where so much is at stake for both the parents and the child.”

But the Appeals Court determined that the Snohomish County termination of parental rights trial for parents Nylysha Aradon and Carey Hayes was anything but impartial.

Read the full story at Parentalrights.org