Court Opinion

ID: 9773824
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:00:23.864949+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:58.333928
License: Public Domain

Robert L. Brown, Justice, dissenting. The decision today forces the child, S.F., now age 9, to five a lie for the remainder of his life in light of the fact that the DNA proof is clear that Tod Hall is his natural father. The majority holds that S.F. has no standing under the governing statute to petition the court to determine who is his natural father. See Ark. Code Ann. § 9-10-104 (Repl. 1993). But here, Doug Freeman, who claimed in his complaint that he was merely the putative father of S.F., filed the paternity action. Furthermore, the biological mother, Jamie McFall, asserted in her answer that it was in S.F.’s best interests to have the DNA testing done and to determine paternity. In her prayer, she requested that the testing be done. The chancellor then consolidated Freeman’s paternity action with the previous divorce action and appointed a guardian to represent S.F.’s interests. DNA testing was performed at the request of both Doug Freeman and S.F.’s guardian, as well as Jamie McFall, and it showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tod Hall was the natural father. Hence, everyone but Tod Hall agreed that the testing should be done. Under these facts, the standing requirements of the paternity statute were satisfied in my judgment, and the determination of paternity could proceed. Moreover, once DNA testing was performed showing the probability that Tod Hall was S.F.’s father to be 99.97%, any presumption that S.F. was Doug Freeman’s natural child flew out the window. It is true that the chancellor ultimately ruled that Freeman could not contest paternity because his previous divorce decree referred to S.F. as being born of the marriage. But that conclusion was reached by the chancellor after the DNA testing was completed. A successful defense raised by Tod Hall does not negate Freeman’s standing to file the suit initially and ask for DNA testing with the concurrence of the biological mother. Nor does it vitiate S.F.’s right to have the matter proceed to conclusion after the DNA results were furnished. In a sense, DNA testing has changed the rules of the game regarding paternity. Though I believe a statutory mechanism was in place, under these facts, to afford Freeman, McFall, and S.F. the right to have S.F.’s natural father identified, the General Assembly would do well to examine § 9-10-104 and weigh the competing policies involved in this case. In short, I believe that Doug Freeman had sufficient standing to file the paternity action, as an alleged putative father, and to request DNA testing, with the concurrence of Jamie McFall and the guardian for S.F. After the testing, S.F. was not presumed to be legitimate. Under these circumstances, S.F. had the right to have his natural father identified as between Doug Freeman and Tod Hall. I respectfully dissent.