### IN THE COURT OF APP EALS OF TENNESS EE AT JAC KSON Ma y 19, 200 9 S es sio n
STATE OF TENNESS EE DEPARTME NT OF CHI LDREN’S SE RVICES v.

MA RLO W WILLIAM S, ET A L 

### . Direc t Appeal from the Chancer y Court for Shelby Cou nty No. CH-06-0248- 2 Arnold B. Goldin , Chancellor

No. W2008-02001-C OA-R3-P T - F iled Jul y 28, 2009

P ARTIAL DISSE NT

________________________ HOL L Y M. KI RBY, J., DI SSENTI NG I N PART:

Ifu lly c on c ur in m os t of

the ana ly sis in t

he ma jor ity op ini on

. Ho we ve r, Imus t r e sp e c tf ull y dissent from its analy sis under T.C.A. § 36-1- 113(g )(9) (A)( iv).

Se c tio n 3 6- 1- 11 3( g )( 9) (A )( iv) pr ov ide s: (g )(9) (A) T he par ental rig hts of any person who, at the time of the filing of a pe tition to terminate the pa

renta l rig hts of such per son or, if no such pe tition i s filed, at the time of the filing of a petition to adopt a child, is not the l eg al parent or g uardia n of such child or who is descr ibed in § 36-1-117( b) or ( c) ma y also be ter

minated base d up on any on e (1 ) o r m or e of

the fo llo wi nga dd iti on a l g ro un ds

.

* * * (iv) The person has failed to manifest an ability and will ingne ss to assume lega l and phy sical custody

of the c hild;

T. C.A . § 36 -1 -1 13 (g )( 9) (A )( iv) (2 00 5)

. Th is statut or y pr ov isi on a

pp lie s to a pe rs on wh o, a t th e tim e the pe tit ion

is f ile d, is n e ith e r t

he g ua rd ian o f t he c hil d n or

the le g a l pa

re nt. Assuming the statute is applicable to a biologica l father

such as Mr. Williams, then I disag ree wi th t he ma jor ity ’s c on c lus ion that g ro un ds un de r su bs e c tio n ( iv) we re no t e sta bli sh e d. Th e statut e a pp lie s to a

“ pe rs on ” wh o is ne ith e r t he g ua rd ian n or the le g a l pa

re nt of the c hil d, and

“ a pp lie s o nly to case s in which no leg al relationship betwee n the par ent and c hild has been e stablished.” Jones
v . G arre tt , 92 S.W .3d 835, 839 (Tenn. 2002) . “B y excluding le gal pare nts from its gr ounds for te rm inatio n, thi s st a tut e a ff or ds le g a l pa

re nts a he ig hte ne d le ve l of leg a l pro te c tio n co nc e rn ingthe ir pare ntal rig hts.” Id. Thus , the g ro un ds fo r te rm inatio n a pp lic a ble to “ pe rs on s” wh o h a ve no le g a llyO f co u rs e , t h is gr o u n d c o u ld no t b e a p p lied to a leg a l p a re n t wh o w a s inc a rc e ra te d a t t h e ti m e o f t ria l. 1
-2- rec og nized relationship to the child are less stringe nt and less difficult to prove

. See In re H.A.L. , 20 05 WL95 48 66 a t *8 -9 ; In re Adopti on of S.T.D. , 2007 WL 3171034 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007).
The statute state s expressly that g rounds for te rmination are established if DCS proves that M r

. W i l l i a m s “ h a s f

a i l e d t o m an i f

e s t ana b i l i t y and willingness to assume leg al and phy sical custody of the c hil d. ” Thus , unle ss M r. Willi a ms, a s so me on e wi th no le g a lly re c og nize d re la tio ns hip wi th the child, has manife st ed b o t h “ability and willingne ss” to take c ustody of the c hild, his parental rig hts may

be ter minated.
This is consonant with the over all intent of the par ental ter mination statutes to give c hildren perma nency and not allow them to re main in foster c are indefinitely

. Her e, we have no idea f rom the re cord w hen Mr. Wil liams w ill be rele ased from prison. We know only that, as of the time of trial, Mr. Will iams was inca rce rate d and could not assume leg al custody of M.L .E.S. The majority ’s

1 interpret at ion of section 36-1- 113(g )(9) (A)( iv) permits a pe rson with no leg ally rec og nized relationship t o the child and no ability to take custody to pr event the child from having a perma nent ho me sim ply by say ing , “ I f I we re no t inc arc e ra te d, I wo uld lov e to pa

re nt thi s c hil d. ” Ire sp e c tf ull y disag ree with this i nterpre tation.

I n all other re spects, I

concur with the majority

opinion.

__________________________________________ H O L L Y M

. K I R B Y , J.