Court Opinion

ID: 9525074
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:59:45.1573+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:12:47.040426
License: Public Domain

H. W. Moes, J.
(dissenting). Although I agree with the decision of the majority insofar as it holds that the probate court proceeded under the inappropriate section of the statute, I respectfully disagree with their conclusion that the error can be deemed harmless.
Daphne Bailey was born on May 2, 1981. The order permanently terminating parental rights was entered less than one year later, on April 29, 1982. The statutory provision on which the majority relies provides the following:
"Where a child remains in foster care in the temporary custody of the court following the initial hearing provided by section 19, the court may make a final determination and order placing the child in the permanent custody of the court, if it finds any of the following:
*530"(c) A parent or guardian of the child is unable to provide proper care and custody for a period in excess of 2 years because of a mental deficiency or mental illness, without a reasonable expectation that the parent will be able to assume care and custody of the child within a reasonable length of time considering the age of the child.” MCL 712A.19a(c); MSA 21.3178(598-.19a)(c).
In my opinion, the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous. It expressly precludes the probate court from terminating parental rights on the basis of a finding of mental deficiency or mental illness which renders the parent or guardian unable to provide proper care and custody until a period of at least two years has elapsed. To hold otherwise renders as mere surplusage the language which requires the probate court to make a separate finding that there is no reasonable expectation that the parent will be able to assume care and custody of the child within a reasonable period of time thereafter.
A well-settled rule of statutory construction is that all language of a statutory provision is presumed to have meaning and no words or phrases should be treated as surplusage or rendered nugatory. Melia v Employment Security Comm, 346 Mich 544, 562; 78 NW2d 273 (1956). Furthermore, where a statute contains language which is clear and unambiguous, judicial construction which alters the plain meaning of the statute is prohibited. Lawrence v Dep’t of Corrections, 88 Mich App 167, 171; 276 NW2d 554 (1979). In my opinion, a plain reading of the above-quoted statutory language compels a conclusion that, in order to effect termination of parental rights under § 19a(c), three things must be shown:
*531(1) that a mental deficiency or mental illness renders the parent or guardian unable to provide proper care and custody for the child;
(2) that a two-year period has elapsed during which the inability to provide such care and custody has continued to exist; and
(3) that no reasonable expectation exists that the parent or guardian will thereafter be able to assume care and custody of the child within a reasonable period of time.
In my view, the statutory provision requiring the two-year period of delay reflects a legislative determination that mentally ill or mentally deficient persons who are unable to initially provide adequate care for their children should be given a period of time in which to receive treatment or education and training which will enable them to provide such care. It further reflects an unwillingness on the part of the Legislature to permit the probate court to make a finding, prior to the time the two-year period expires, that such treatment, training, and education will be useless.
Many persons who suffer from mental illness or other mental deficiencies are able to lead relatively normal and productive lives. It has long been recognized that the familial relationship occupies a basic position in our society’s hierarchy of values. The fundamental nature of parental rights is a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the Matter of Kozak, 92 Mich App 579, 581-582; 285 NW2d 378 (1979). In my view, the parental rights of these appellants should be as zealously guarded as are those same rights held by other members of society. Although it is true that protracted termination proceedings might be detrimental to the child, in my opinion, the two-year delay period reflects a *532legislative balancing of interest which is intended to insure that the child’s interests are protected while at the same time safeguarding the rights of persons who are parents and who also happen to suffer from some form of mental illness or mental deficiency.
The result reached by the majority permits a probate court to summarily and completely terminate the parental rights of persons suffering from mental illness or mental deficiency without the benefit of the passage of a period of time long enough to accurately determine whether the parents may be able to improve their ability to care for their child. The findings of the probate court with respect to the capacity of such parents to care for their children might well be used against those parents in later proceedings should they conceive other children. See In re Dittrick Infant, 80 Mich App 219; 263 NW2d 37 (1977). Such parents might be forever deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of parenthood solely on the basis of a determination which was made in haste and in the absence of time-tempered reflection. This the Legislature did not intend.
I would reverse the probate court’s order insofar as it permanently terminated appellants’ parental rights and would remand the case for further proceedings.