Opinion ID: 1105999
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Certified Conflict Issue

Text: The certified conflict issue of whether section 39.806(1)(d)(1) is solely forward-looking or instead encompasses the entire period of incarceration presents a question of statutory construction. This Court's purpose in construing a statutory provision is to give effect to the polestar of legislative intent. See State v. J.M., 824 So.2d 105, 109 (Fla.2002). In attempting to discern legislative intent, this Court looks first to the actual language used in the statute. See Joshua v. City of Gainesville, 768 So.2d 432, 435 (Fla.2000); see also Overstreet v. State, 629 So.2d 125, 126 (Fla.1993) (Legislative intent must be determined primarily from the language of the statute.). When a statute is clear, courts will not look behind the statute's plain language for legislative intent or resort to rules of statutory construction to ascertain intent. State v. Burris, 875 So.2d 408, 410 (Fla.2004); see also Lee County Elec. Co-op., Inc. v. Jacobs, 820 So.2d 297, 303 (Fla.2002). The language of section 39.806(1)(d)(1) speaks only to the future regarding both the period of incarceration and the child's minority as the criteria to be used in determining whether this ground for termination has been established. The provision specifies that a petition for termination of parental rights may be filed when [t]he period of time for which the parent is expected to be incarcerated will constitute a substantial portion of the period of time before the child will attain the age of 18 years. (Emphasis supplied.) This is the test that the trial court must apply in a hearing on a petition for termination. See § 39.809(1) (In a hearing on a petition for termination of parental rights, the court shall consider the elements required for termination.). From the perspective of the trial court deciding on termination, the terms is expected to be incarcerated, will constitute, and will attain, make the provision entirely forward-looking. We therefore agree with the Second District that the statutory language requires the court to evaluate whether the time for which a parent is expected to be incarcerated in the future constitutes a substantial portion of the time before the child reaches eighteen, not whether the time the parent has been incarcerated is a substantial portion of the child's life to date. J.D.C., 819 So.2d at 266 (emphasis supplied). We are not at liberty to construe this unambiguous language differently. See Fla. Dep't of Revenue v. Fla. Mun. Power Agency, 789 So.2d 320, 323 (Fla.2001) (stating that this Court will not deem itself authorized to depart from the plain meaning of the language which is free from ambiguity) (quoting Forsythe v. Longboat Key Beach Erosion Control Dist., 604 So.2d 452, 454 (Fla.1992)). Nor are we permitted to add to a statute words that were not placed there by the Legislature. See Seagrave v. State, 802 So.2d 281, 287 (Fla.2001). This construction of the provision also comports with the constitutional principle that statutes implicating constitutional rights must be narrowly limited in their application according to the statutory language. State v. Jackson, 650 So.2d 24, 26-27 (Fla.1995). We have consistently held that termination of parental rights implicates the fundamental liberty interest of parents in the care and upbringing of their children. See F.L., 880 So.2d at 608; Beagle v. Beagle, 678 So.2d 1271, 1275 (Fla.1996); Padgett, 577 So.2d at 570; cf. Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 753, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982). Thus, because parental rights constitute a fundamental liberty interest, the state must establish in each case that termination of those rights is the least restrictive means of protecting the child from serious harm. Padgett, 577 So.2d at 571. In determining whether termination is necessary to protect the child from serious future harm, the trial court certainly may take into account evidence of past parent-child contact. Cf. F.L., 880 So.2d at 609 (For a trial court applying section 39.806(1)(i), the circumstances leading to the prior involuntary termination will be highly relevant to the court's determination of whether the current child is at risk and whether termination is the least restrictive way to protect the child.). However, construing section 39.806(1)(d)(1) to require consideration of past incarceration in making the termination decision would be inconsistent with the constitutionally mandated narrow construction of the statutory language and the constitutionally required focus on future harm to the child. Justice Bell asserts in his dissenting opinion that a forward-looking construction of section 39.806(1)(d)(1) contravenes section 39.801(9), Florida Statutes, which provides that the provisions of chapter 39 are to be construed liberally ... and in conformity with the [chapter's] declared purposes. According to Justice Bell, the declared purpose of chapter 39 is to protect children. Although this is the certainly the primary purpose of chapter 39, as expressed in section 39.001(1), the provision also reflects the Legislature's intent that the protection of children be accomplished, if possible, within the family setting. See § 39.001(1)(b) (recognizing that children achieve their greatest potential when families are able to support and nurture the growth and development of their children); § 39.001(1)(b)(3) (stating that any intervention should intrude as little as possible into the life of the family ... and take the most parsimonious path to remedy a family's problems). The purpose of protecting children is not necessarily better served by a construction of section 39.806(1)(d)(1) that requires courts to examine the entire period of incarceration during a child's minority than by a construction focusing on the remaining incarceration. Justice Bell's conclusion reflects an underlying assumption, for which there is no supporting legislative pronouncement, that a parent separated from his or her child by incarceration cannot support the child's development or participate in the life of the family. In fact, the Legislature apparently has concluded to the contrary. See § 944.8031(1), Fla. Stat. (2003) (finding that maintaining an inmate's family and community relationships through enhancing visitor services and programs and increasing the frequency and quality of the visits is an underutilized correctional resource). Further, we do not consider our construction to be either more or less friendly to incarcerated parents than the Fourth District's view. See dissenting op. at 1062 n. 11. If termination is gauged solely by the criteria of section 39.806(1)(d)(1), unwarranted termination can occur under either interpretation. For example, under a construction encompassing both past and present incarceration, the provision could authorize termination of parental rights in the eighth year of a ten-year prison term that was imposed upon the parent when the child was two years of age, regardless of that parent's participation in the child's life during the first eight years of incarceration. Using a forward-looking construction, termination would not be authorized under those circumstances. In contrast, if termination is sought in the scenario of a fifteen-year-old child with a parent commencing a two-year prison sentence, the criteria of section 39.806(1)(d)(1) would be met under a forward-looking construction but not when taking into account the entire period of incarceration during a child's minority. In neither situation would termination based solely on the parent's incarceration necessarily accomplish the Legislature's purpose of providing for the protection of children with minimal interference in the lives of families. However, the potential consequences across the spectrum of situations under which termination may be sought based on parental incarceration are no more harsh to either parent or child under our construction than under Justice Bell's view. The potential for unwarranted termination under either view is why the provision must be read in light of Padgett's requirement, reiterated in F.L., that the state must show by clear and convincing evidence that reunification with the parent poses a substantial risk of significant harm to the child, and that termination of parental rights is the least restrictive means of protecting the child from harm. F.L., 880 So.2d at 608; Padgett, 577 So.2d at 571. In addition, the petitioner must allege, and the trial court must find, that termination is in the manifest best interests of the child. See §§ 39.802(4)(c), 39.810, Fla. Stat. (2003). Termination of the parental rights of a parent who has played a supportive and beneficial role in the child's life despite the disabilities of incarceration probably would not meet these additional statutory and constitutional criteria. Cf. B.W., 498 So.2d at 948 (stating that efforts, or lack thereof, by incarcerated parent to assume his parental duties through communicating with and supporting his children must be measured against his limited opportunity to assume those duties while imprisoned). Further, termination of an incarcerated parent's rights when another parent retains custody, which is permitted under section 39.810(3), Florida Statutes, would in many cases be contrary to the child's best interests if the custodial parent facilitates contact with the incarcerated parent. In sum, termination cannot rest exclusively on the length of incarceration. The actual effect of incarceration on the parent-child relationship must also be considered in light of the additional statutory and constitutional requirements. As we recently stated in F.L. concerning the court's obligation to assess when termination is the least restrictive means of protecting the child from serious harm, the termination decision as a whole can be made only after a judicious assessment of all relevant circumstances. 880 So.2d at 608. We are confident that trial judges will diligently apply all the statutory and constitutional criteria in ruling on petitions for termination. Finally, we note that the conclusion we reach as to the interpretation of this statute would encourage the State to pursue termination, if at all, early in a prison term. A termination decision at that point can facilitate the timely development of a permanency plan when the child is younger and can therefore gain greater benefit from the stability created by permanency. In contrast, a construction that encompasses the entire sentence, regardless of when the termination petition is filed, creates no incentive to resolve the issue of parental rights of an incarcerated parent when the decision is of greatest significance to the child. Accordingly, we reject the construction of section 39.806(1)(d)(1) adopted by the Fourth District in B.C. and instead adopt the forward-looking construction employed by the Second District in J.D.C., A.W., and E.I.F. as being consistent with the statutory language chosen by the Legislature, consistent with the constitutionally required emphasis on future harm, and consistent with the best interests of children of incarcerated parents.