Court Opinion

ID: 9765294
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 03:58:57.669474+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:08.288965
License: Public Domain

Concurring opinion by CATHELL, J. which BELL, C.J. joins.
I concur in the judgment. I write to make clear my position. As I read the majority’s opinion, it incorporates that *506either a finding of unfitness or exceptional circumstances must be found after the statutory provisions are addressed in order for parental rights to be terminated under the statute. I have a strong belief that the Constitutions of the United States and Maryland are paramount to any statute that may be enacted. In my view, the fundamental constitutional right of parents to raise their children is to be addressed normally by an initial finding of either parental unfitness or extraordinary circumstances. Before a trial court addresses the statutory factors it should address the unfitness/extraordinary factors prior to considering elements in the statute. In simplified form, I believe that the majority has the cart before the horse, but, nonetheless, has arrived at the right destination, albeit in reverse. Chief Judge Bell joins in the concurrence.