Opinion ID: 1259336
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Lehr principle

Text: The significance of the biological connection is that it offers the natural father an opportunity that no other male possesses to develop a relationship with his offspring. If he grasps that opportunity and accepts some measure of responsibility for the child's future, he may enjoy the blessings of the parent-child relationship.... Lehr, 463 U.S. at 261-62, 103 S.Ct. at 2993. In defining the father's liberty interest, the Court characterized the rights of the parents [as] a counterpart of the responsibilities they have assumed. Id. at 257, 103 S.Ct. at 2991. Only if paternity is legally established and the unwed father seeks custody does he have the right to provide emotional support and receive the corresponding benefits of a parental relationship. See A.R.S. § 25-331(C). Thus, because the unwed father has no immediate and obvious legal ties to the child, he must act to establish his parent-child relationship. Lehr, and cases interpreting it, provides insight into the important conduct under § 8-533. The father's immediate and persistent actions are central. See In re Appeal of H.R., 581 A.2d 1141, 1160 (D.C.Ct. App. 1990) (lead opinion); Wade v. Geren, 743 P.2d 1070 (Okla. 1987). When an unwed father demonstrates a full commitment to the responsibilities of parenthood by `com[ing] forward to participate in the rearing of his child,' his interest in personal contact with his child acquires substantial protection under the Due Process Clause. Lehr, 463 U.S. at 261, 103 S.Ct. at 2993 (quoting Caban, 441 U.S. at 392, 99 S.Ct. at 1768). Thus, in whatever manner we apply the statute's language to termination proceedings against an unwed father with no parental relationship, the message, put simply, is this: do something, because conduct speaks louder than words or subjective intent. [14] When, as in the present case, circumstances prevent the unwed father from exercising traditional methods of bonding with his child, he must act persistently to establish the relationship however possible and must vigorously assert his legal rights to the extent necessary. In re Raquel Marie X, 76 N.Y.2d 387, 559 N.Y.S.2d 855, 559 N.E.2d 418, 428 (1990) (the qualifying interest of an unwed father requires a willingness himself to assume full custody of the child  not merely to block adoption by others), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 984, 111 S.Ct. 517, 112 L.Ed.2d 528 (1990). Only then is a biological link transformed into a parental relationship deserving full constitutional protection. Although these tests may be an appropriate interpretation of the statute in cases in which there is an existing parental relationship, adhering to settled purpose or conscious disregard concepts in these cases in which no such relationship exists defeats the essential goal: prompt finality that protects the child's interests. Lehr, 463 U.S. at 266, 103 S.Ct. at 2996. As a matter of sound jurisprudence, this goal is paramount. Otherwise a young child languishes in limbo  surrendered by the mother, unclaimed by the father, and bonding with others  from which the law cannot extricate the child without lengthy proceedings compounding the harm. Therefore, when determining whether an unwed father who has never had a relationship with his child has protected his rights, we judge abandonment by conduct, not by subjective intent. We believe the statute allows such an application as a matter of constitutional principle and text. The termination statute permits us to consider the needs of the child. § 8-533(B). [15] Implicit in this is the requirement that the father act, and act quickly, for those needs include a reasonably prompt determination of where and by whom the child is to be raised and nurtured. The law favors rapid placement so that the child can bond with those who will be the legal parents and not with those from whom the child may be taken. This sound policy benefits the child, the natural parents, the prospective adoptive parents, and society.