Court Opinion

ID: 9651082
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 16:05:16.191921+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:29.761495
License: Public Domain

DANA, J.,
with whom CALKINS, J., joins, dissenting.
[¶ 41] I would vacate the judgment for two reasons. First, the error in excluding *1257the mother’s crucial medical evidence was not harmless. Second, there is no evidence in this record, let alone clear and convincing evidence, that termination of the mother’s parental rights is in Miehae-la’s best interest.
I.
[¶ 42] The Court correctly concludes that the trial court abused its discretion by preventing the mother from presenting her medical evidence. Some further analysis is necessary to explain both the nature of the court’s error and why it was not harmless.
[¶ 43] Had the mother offered her medical evidence for the sole purpose of challenging the 1999 jeopardy determination, it would have been irrelevant. At a termination hearing, “[t]he question is whether [the parent] can protect [the children] from jeopardy now or within a time reasonably calculated to meet their needs.” In re Howard P., 562 A.2d 1224, 1227 (Me.1989); see also In re Kafia M., 1999 ME 195, ¶ 12, 742 A.2d 919, 924. On the other hand, evidence offered to show the absence of current jeopardy was relevant. The April 1999 jeopardy order could neither foreclose litigation of current jeopardy at the time of the termination hearing nor relieve the Department of its burden of proving current jeopardy as part of its allegation that the mother is unwilling or unable to protect Michaela from jeopardy within a time reasonably calculated to meet her needs. Because of the higher standard of proof required for termination, the jeopardy order does not have preclu-sive effect on the issue of jeopardy. See Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 284-85, 111 S.Ct. 654, 112 L.Ed.2d 755 (1991) (holding that prior finding by preponderance standard cannot be given collateral estoppel effect in proceeding governed by clear and convincing standard); RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF JUDGMENTS § 28(4) (1982). Moreover, jeopardy was in issue because circumstances could have changed in the intervening period, so that the jeopardy that was agreed to exist almost two years before could have ceased by the time of the termination hearing.
[¶ 44] The trial court correctly noted the distinction between an attack on the 1999 jeopardy determination and litigation of current jeopardy, but misapplied it in a way that prevented the mother from presenting relevant evidence. The court’s mistake was to repeatedly interpret the mother’s proffer as going only to the first, impermissible purpose. The mother’s arguments, although not as clear at all times as they could have been, do not support this interpretation. She consistently argued that she should be allowed to introduce expert testimony regarding Miehae-la’s historical medical condition, which might have shown that the factual assumptions underlying the April 1999 agreed jeopardy order were incorrect, but which was offered not for the purpose of contesting that order but in order to show that there was no current jeopardy.
[¶ 45] The court’s misinterpretation of the mother’s argument appears to stem from an error about the temporal scope of the evidence relevant to the issue of current jeopardy. The court repeatedly excluded evidence of Michaela’s medical condition before the jeopardy order as irrelevant, while also stating that it would allow evidence of her current medical condition. Our caselaw, however, does not support drawing such a line. In In re Nathaniel B., 1998 ME 99, ¶ 6, 710 A.2d 921, 922, we rejected an argument that the termination court should have looked only at the parents’ actions after the issuance of the child protection order (the equivalent of the jeopardy order under *1258the prior statute) in considering parental unfitness. “There is nothing in the statute, and nothing in our past decisions, that limits the temporal scope of the court’s examination of evidence to any particular period. We decline to impose such a limit.” Id. at 922; accord In re Alexander D., 1998 ME 207, ¶ 18, 716 A.2d 222, 228. Evidence regarding the period after the April 1999 jeopardy order was obviously relevant, see, e.g., In re Scott S., 2001 ME 114, ¶ 15, 775 A.2d 1144, 1150, but evidence of Michaela’s past medical condition, particularly of her condition while in the care of her mother and maternal grandmother before November 1998, was also relevant to the issues of her best interest and whether she would be in jeopardy if returned to her mother’s care in late 2000 or early 2001.
[¶ 46] The cumulative effect of all the court’s rulings on the medical evidence issue, from the pretrial order barring medical testimony on any termination issues to the portion of the termination order refusing to allow the mother to reopen the record to present the testimony of Dr. Boyle, was to deny the mother a fair opportunity to present her relevant medical evidence. The Court correctly concludes that it is highly probable that this error did not affect the trial court’s parental unfitness determination, see In re Scott S., 2001 ME 114, ¶ 29, 775 A.2d at 1153-54, because the medical evidence would not have affected the court’s finding that the mother failed to make a good faith effort to rehabilitate and reunify with Michaela, see 22 M.R.S.A. § 4055(l)(B)(2)(b)(iv) (1992).11
[¶47] I cannot agree, however, that it highly probable that the error did not affect the trial court’s best interest determination. That determination rested in large part on a finding that Michaela’s medical needs could only be met by her paternal grandmother, not by her mother. The court’s understanding of those medical needs depended entirely on secondary evidence. Although Michaela’s medical problems were an important part of its case for termination, the Department called five mental health professionals as witnesses but did not call a single medical expert. The Department’s evidence on the best interest element was weak, as I discuss below. Dr. Boyle’s testimony on behalf of the mother would have been the sole expert medical testimony heard by the court and would have greatly increased the court’s understanding of Michaela’s medical needs. It is distinctly possible, therefore, that the admission of Dr. Boyle’s testimony could have led the court to a different conclusion with respect to Mi-chaela’s best interest.
[¶ 48] The Department has the burden to demonstrate that an error in a termination of parental rights proceeding was harmless. That burden “is high,” and thus “[a]ny doubt will be resolved in favor of the parent.” In re Scott S., 2001 ME 114, ¶ 29, 775 A.2d at 1154. There is significant doubt about the impact the mother’s medical evidence would have had, and that doubt must be resolved in her favor. The judgment should be vacated and the case remanded for a new hearing at which the mother has a full opportunity to present her medical evidence.
II.
[¶ 49] In deciding whether termination is in a child’s best interest, the court must consider “the needs of the child, including the child’s age, the child’s attachments to *1259relevant persons, periods of attachments and separation, the child’s ability to integrate into a substitute placement or back into the parent’s home and the child’s physical and emotional needs.” 22 M.R.S.A. § 4055(2) (Supp.2001). Although evidence of parental unfitness is relevant to the best interest inquiry, In re Michelle W., 2001 ME 123, ¶ 14, 777 A.2d 283, 286, “best interests [is a] distinct element[] that must be proved independently,” In re Caroline M., 576 A.2d at 745 (Me.1990) (alterations in original). It follows that “the best interest factor alone may prevent the termination of parental rights.” In re Scott S., 2001 ME 114, ¶ 21, 775 A.2d at 1151.
[¶ 50] The trial court’s conclusion that termination was in Michaela’s best interest appears to have rested on the testimony of two witnesses. First, the paternal grandmother’s testimony established that she was an appropriate caregiver for Michaela; the court supportably found that “there is love, affection and strong emotional ties between the child and [the paternal grandmother]” and that the paternal grandmother “has the capacity and willingness to nurture the child and provide her with a safe, predictable and comfortable home.”
[¶ 51] Second, the court’s findings implicitly show rebanee on the testimony and “best interest evaluation” of Eileen Johnson. Johnson testified that Michaela’s “primary attachment figure” was the paternal grandmother because she had been in the paternal grandmother’s care for two years and spent the majority of her time with the paternal grandmother, and that any disruption in this primary attachment could cause serious problems for Michaela including regression in her eating skills. On this basis Johnson recommended termination.
[¶ 52] This testimony was insufficient for the court to conclude that it was highly probable that termination was in Michae-la’s best interest. The paternal grandmother’s testimony supported a conclusion that it would not be in Michaela’s best interest to be removed from her home. Nothing in her testimony, however, supports a conclusion that losing the legal right to contact with her mother is in Michaela’s best interest. The paternal grandmother did not deny that there is a strong and loving bond between Michaela and the mother, and in fact testified that she would allow visitation between the two.12
[¶ 58] Johnson’s evidence is also insufficient to support the court’s conclusion. The record discloses serious flaws in that evidence. That the Department, after filing its termination petition, hired Johnson to perform a “best interest evaluation” is troubbng in itself. It is difficult to avoid the inference that Johnson’s role was essentially to rubber-stamp a decision that the Department had already made, and that the Department’s intent in presenting her “independent” evaluation was to usurp the statutorily-mandated role of the guardian ad litem. See 22 M.R.S.A. § 4005(1) (1992 & Supp.2001) (requiring guardian ad btem to act in pursuit of best interest of child and to investigate, report, and make recommendations to court). This concern is especiaby noteworthy here, where, in contrast to the attorney guardian ad btem, Johnson demonstrated in her testimony a lack of understanding of fundamental legal *1260issues regarding Michaela’s placement. Moreover, again in contrast to the thorough investigation performed by the guardian ad litem, Johnson’s inquiry appears to have been meager: she relied on medical records deemed relevant by the Department and apparently accepted the Department’s factual allegations at face value; she refused to interview the mother when the mother requested that her attorney be present (a reasonable request given Johnson’s status as the Department’s agent); she observed Michaela for only two one-hour visits (one with the paternal grandmother and one with the mother); and she did not evaluate Michaela’s attachment to the mother, apparently deeming it irrelevant because the mother was not Mi-chaela’s “primary attachment figure.”
[¶ 54] The Department’s argument on best interest boils down to a contention that Michaela needs permanence and should have her primary attachment to the paternal grandmother permanently guaranteed. The goal of permanence is clearly an important one, mandated by statute. See 22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4003(4), 4050 (1992 & Supp.2001). Michaela’s need for permanence, however, cannot by itself support the conclusion that termination of parental rights is in her best interest. If it could, the best interest element would be meaningless and termination would be appropriate whenever parental unfitness is found because all children involved in the child protective process need permanence. Likewise, the fact that Michaela has a primary attachment to a capable and loving foster parent who wants to adopt her cannot by itself be dispositive without regard to her attachment to her natural mother.
[¶ 55] In many cases, evidence that the child’s attachment to the natural parent is minimal or nonexistent, or that continued contact with the natural parent would cause the child harm, is crucial to the conclusion that termination of parental rights is in the child’s best interest. See, e.g., In re Kafia M., 1999 ME 195, ¶ 16, 742 A.2d at 925 (citing evidence that child “is bonded with the foster parents who want to adopt her, but not bonded to either her mother or father”). This is not such a case. As the guardian ad litem stated in her report, “[a]ll evidence points to the positive and definite nurturing and loving bond between [the mother] and Mi-chaela.” This bond is not as strong as the bond between the paternal grandmother and Michaela, but only because the Department had placed Michaela in the paternal grandmother’s care for over two years. “Courts should be cautious ... in finding that termination is in a child’s best interests when ... the Department restricts the parent-child contact by instituting child protective proceedings and then cites the lack of a normal parent-child relationship as evidence that the ‘best interests’ test is satisfied.” In re Justin T., 640 A.2d 737, 739 (Me.1994).
[¶ 56] There was no evidence that continued contact with the mother would cause Michaela harm. On the contrary, the paternal grandmother and Johnson, the two witnesses relied on by the Department for its best interest argument, both testified in favor of continued contact between the mother and Michaela. The guardian ad litem argued that a legally guaranteed right to such contact was in Michaela’s best interest, and I agree that the evidence before the court compels such a conclusion.
[¶57] We have recognized in the past that a “child may benefit from preserving a limited relationship with her own [natural parent] despite [the parent’s] inadequacies.” In re Hope II., 541 A.2d 165, 167 (Me.1988) (vacating judgment for insufficient evidence that termination was in child’s best interest). This is particularly true when the child is in the permanent *1261care of a family member. Thus we have held that it was in the best interest of a child who suffered from failure to thrive and was in the custody of her grandmother to keep contact with her mother despite the mother’s unfitness as a parent. In re Caroline M., 576 A.2d at 744-45.
[¶ 58] The trial court stated, as an additional factor in its best interest analysis, that Michaela should not be placed in “limbo” — or as Johnson put it, “the legal business needs to be over.” On this record, however, the notion that Michaela would be harmed by future legal proceedings is pure speculation. Various legal arrangements are possible — not just “long-term foster care,” referred to in the Court’s opinion — that would serve Michaela’s best interest by keeping her in the paternal grandmother’s care while guaranteeing her right to contact with her mother.13 Any such arrangement would, to be sure, allow the mother to come back into court at some point in the future and argue that she has changed and should be given another chance to care for Michaela. Conceivably the court might then find that the mother is a fit parent and that placement with her would be in Michaela’s best interest, but in that case Michaela would be benefitted, not harmed, by a change. The speculative possibility of future legal proceedings cannot justify severing the healthy and loving parent-child bond that now exists between the mother and Mi-chaela.
[¶ 59] Although stating that “proper deference to the trial court” is required, the Court in fact adopts an attitude of super-deference. If this best interest determination, unsupported by any evidence (let alone clear and convincing evidence),14 is affirmed, then every best interest determination will be affirmed. In that case, the District Court’s findings are essentially unreviewable and every appeal from the termination of parental rights is a meaningless exercise and a waste of judicial resources. I cannot believe that the Legislature intended that result when it made parents’ right to appeal an integral part of the statutory scheme. See 22 M.R.S.A. § 4006 (Supp.2001). I respectfully dissent.

. I also agree with the Court’s implicit conclusion that the several additional issues raised by the mother on appeal, other than the exclusion of the medical evidence and the sufficiency of the evidence, do not merit discussion.

. Multiple witnesses, including two visit supervisors, confirmed the existence of the bond between Michaela and her mother. The maternal grandmother (a former Department employee) was a disruptive force, but after she was excluded, the visits between the mother and Michaela were affectionate and appropriate. Michaela loves her mother and looks forward to visits, which had steadily improved in the months leading up to the hearing.

. For example, Michaela could remain in Department custody while placed with the paternal grandmother, cf. 22 M.R.S.A. § 4052(2-A) (Supp.2001) (providing that Department need not file termination petition if it "has chosen to have the child cared for by a relative”); the paternal grandmother could be granted custody of Michaela, see section 4036(1)(F) (1992); In re David W., 568 A.2d 513, 515-16 (Me.1990) (affirming grant of custody to grandparents); see also 19-A M.R.S.A. § 1653(2)(C) (1998) (permitting court to award parental rights and responsibilities to third person if award to parent would place child in jeopardy); or the paternal grandmother could be made Michaela’s legal guardian, see 18-A M.R.S.A. § 5-204 (1998).

. The Court’s opinion shows the low point to which the "clear and convincing evidence” standard has fallen. When we first defined that standard "as that which establishes a factual conclusion to be 'highly probable,’ ” Taylor v. Comm'r of Mental Health & Mental Retardation, 481 A.2d 139, 154 (Me.1984), an important reason was that that definition would ”allow[] meaningful appellate review of the lower court's findings,” id. at 153. In practice, however, it appears that our review in termination of parental rights cases has become indistinguishable from that in cases where the preponderance of the evidence standard is applicable. To provide meaningful appellate review of this constitutionally-mandated higher standard of proof, see Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 769, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982), we should be performing a more searching review of the record than the Court’s extraordinary deference to the trial court allows.