Opinion ID: 4105365
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: l.e.s.’s interests

Text: ¶ 25 First, we consider the private interests at stake: L.E.S.’s parental interest in his daughter, K.A.S. A parent’s “right to ‘the companionship, care, custody, and management of his or her children’ is an important interest that ‘undeniably warrants deference and, absent a powerful countervailing interest, protection.’” Lassiter v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 452 U.S. 18, 27 (1981) (quoting Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 651 (1972)). In fact, “[t]he right of a fit, competent parent to raise the parent’s child without undue government interference is a fundamental liberty interest that has long been protected by the laws and Constitution and is a fundamental public policy of this state.” UTAH CODE § 62A-4a-201(1)(c); 7 see id. § 78A-6-503(1) (“Under both the United States Constitution and the constitution of this state, a parent possesses a fundamental liberty interest in the care, custody, and management of the parent’s child.”); id. § 78A-6-503(4) (“The court should give serious consideration to the fundamental right of a parent to rear the parent’s child, and concomitantly, [to] the right of the child to be reared by the child’s natural parent.”); see also Lassiter, 452 U.S. at 38 (“[F]ar more precious . . . than property rights, . . . parental rights have been deemed to be among those essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” (first and second alterations in original) exclusion of the first two factors. Infra ¶ 70. We cannot agree with this proposition. It is true that the third factor is important and perhaps has drawn the most attention, but that is not to say that the other two factors do not play a role. We read Lassiter to require all three. Lassiter, 452 U.S. at 31 (“The dispositive question . . . is whether the three Eldridge factors, when weighed against the presumption that there is no right to appointed counsel . . . , suffice to rebut that presumption . . . .”). 7 Unless otherwise indicated, citations are to the current edition of the Utah Code. We have omitted the date from citations to the current edition. 10 Cite as: 2016 UT 55 Opinion of the Court (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Therefore, as noted in Lassiter, a “parent’s interest in the accuracy and justice of the decision to terminate his or her parental status is . . . a commanding one.” Id. at 27; see UTAH CODE § 62A-4a-201(1)(b) (“Until the state proves parental unfitness, . . . the child and the child’s parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship.”). Furthermore, the Court indicated that the parent’s “extremely important” interest “may be supplemented by the dangers of criminal liability inherent in some termination proceedings.” Lassiter, 452 U.S. at 31. ¶ 26 In this case, the parent’s interests were at their strongest or very nearly so. L.E.S.’s right, as a parent, to the companionship, care, custody, and management of K.A.S. is clearly an important interest. Thus, he has a commanding interest in the accuracy and justice of the parental-rights termination proceeding. Furthermore, there is some concern regarding the risk of self-incrimination in this case, where the district court found that L.E.S. should have taken K.A.S.’s mother to court for refusing to facilitate visits but that he did not do so because “he was afraid because he was on drugs,” and where the district court also noted that L.E.S.’s “extensive substance abuse is terms of neglect.” It is unclear whether these findings were based on testimony elicited from L.E.S. or from evidence that was submitted, but L.E.S. did testify and was cross-examined, and it certainly appears that there was a risk of self-incrimination through the disclosure of information regarding his use of controlled substances. 8 Thus, we conclude that L.E.S.’s interests were at their strongest or very nearly so. 8 Aside from the risk of self-incrimination, there might also be some danger of criminal liability based on allegations in the petition to terminate L.E.S.’s rights. In Lassiter, it appears that “the petition to terminate Ms. Lassiter’s parental rights contained no allegations of neglect or abuse upon which criminal charges could be based.” Lassiter, 452 U.S. at 32. In contrast, the petition in this case alleged neglect and emotional abuse, including a statement that L.E.S. “has not paid child support for years.” Admittedly, however, it is not clear whether the allegations here are sufficient to potentially lead to criminal charges (for example, it is unclear whether “child support” refers to court-ordered child support). 11 Cite as: 2016 UT 55 Opinion of the Court