Court Opinion

ID: 9686144
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 15:31:06.732478+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:15.429297
License: Public Domain

YETKA, Justice
(dissenting).
The United States Supreme Court has stated:
The Court’s decisions have by now made plain beyond the need for multiple citation that a parent’s desire for and right to “the companionship, care, custody, and management of his or her children” is an important interest that “undeniably warrants deference and, absent a powerful countervailing interest, protection.” * * * A parent’s interest in the accuracy and justice of the decision to terminate his or her parental status is, therefore, a commanding one.
Lassiter v. Department of Social Services, 452 U.S. 18, 27, 101 S.Ct. 2153, 2159, 68 *797L.Ed.2d 640 (1981) (quoting Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 651, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 1212, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1971)). We have held that parents should not be deprived of the custody and companionship of their children “except for grave and weighty reasons.” McDonald v. Copperud, 295 Minn. 440, 444, 206 N.W.2d 551, 553 (1973); see also County of Hennepin v. Brinkman, 378 N.W.2d 790, 793 (1985). (“This Court frequently has stressed the importance of familial bonds, whether or not legitimized by marriage, and accorded them constitutional protection.” Quoting Little v. Streater, 452 U.S. 1, 13, 101 S.Ct. 2202, 2209, 68 L.Ed.2d 627 (1981).) Furthermore, the facts deemed admitted by the district court constituted almost the whole of the evidence on which the court based its conclusions. Without the opportunity to present evidence or cross-examine witnesses, the risk of an erroneous decision was great. The state’s interest in enforcing discovery orders cannot outweigh the important private interest of the respondents in the custody of their children and an accurate determination of a dependency and neglect hearing.
Respondents also had a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in response to the questions put to them in the court-ordered depositions. It is clearly established that parties in civil proceedings may invoke the Fifth Amendment in order to protect themselves from possible criminal prosecution. Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 12 L.Ed.2d 653 (1964); Minn. State Bar Ass’n v. Divorce Assistance Ass’n, 311 Minn. 276, 248 N.W.2d 733 (1976). This court has also ruled, however, that, in civil proceedings, “a court order which deems admitted allegations in a request for admission does not violate the Fifth Amendment rights of the party upon whom the request was served, nor Article I, Section 7 of the Minnesota Constitution.” Parker v. Hennepin County District Court, 285 N.W.2d 81, 82 (Minn.1979), following Baxter v. Palmigiano, 425 U.S. 308, 96 S.Ct. 1551, 47 L.Ed.2d 810 (1976).1 We warned, however, that “[invocation of the Fifth Amendment by a civil defendant, * * * requires a * * * subtle response, because of the involuntary nature of a defendant’s participation in a lawsuit, and the appearance of compulsion.” 285 N.W.2d at 83. Adverse inferences against civil defendants who invoke the Fifth Amendment will be permitted only when “[sjuch sanctions do not punish a defendant for his assertion of the privilege, but for his failure to answer as he typically would have under normal circumstances.” Id. The United States Supreme Court stated: “[0]ur cases have established that a State may not impose substantial penalties because a witness elects to exercise his Fifth Amendment right not to give incriminating testimony against himself.” Lefkowitz v. Cunningham, 431 U.S. 801, 805, 97 S.Ct. 2132, 2135, 53 L.Ed.2d 1 (1976). See also Gardner v. Broderick, 392 U.S. 273, 88 S.Ct. 1913, 20 L.Ed.2d 1082 (1968); Lefkowitz v. Turley, 414 U.S. 70, 94 S.Ct. 316, 38 L.Ed.2d 274 (1973). This rule is based on the broader principle that a person cannot be forced to forfeit one constitutional right in order to exercise another. Cunningham, 431 U.S. at 807-08, 97 S.Ct. at 2136-37; Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 394, 88 S.Ct. 967, 976, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968). In Parker, the defendant was found not to be penalized for invoking the Fifth Amendment but, instead, was prevented from gaming an unfair advantage over the plaintiff. Parker, 285 N.W.2d at 83. In Baxter, the Supreme Court allowed an inference to be drawn from the defendant’s silence since the issue was only one of a number of factors that the trier of fact considered and was given no more probative value than the case warranted. Neither Parker nor Baxter concerned parents’ right to a fair and accurate hearing before their parental rights were substantially affected. Neither case involved an order pro*798hibiting the production of evidence or cross-examination of witnesses.
The respondents asserted their Fifth Amendment right in the face of a possible homicide prosecution. As required by due process and clearly established by the rules of procedure for juvenile court, they had the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. They were forced to forfeit their due process rights in order to invoke the Fifth Amendment. The error is augmented by the fact that the mother hoped to differentiate her involvement in H.L.’s death from that of the father. I would find that, under the circumstances of this case, such a sanction constitutes a penalty for invoking the Fifth Amendment since the facts deemed admitted determined the central issues of the trial and resulted in the removal of the respondents’ children. Furthermore, as the court of appeals found, barring respondents from presenting evidence or cross-examining witnesses even more obviously penalized the respondents for exercising their rights. Since the district court based its rulings largely on the facts deemed admitted and which respondents were prohibited from opposing, the error committed was not harmless error.
There are several further points to emphasize concerning the particular circumstances of this case. First, the rules of procedure for juvenile court explicitly provide for the right of cross-examination and the right to present evidence. Second, once the issues in the present case were deemed admitted, there was no real purpose to having the dependency and neglect hearing, for the main issues were settled by the sanction. Third, it came out at oral argument that there was some conflict which should have been explored at cross-examination concerning when the blow was inflicted on H.L. Finally, the questions asked at the deposition were similar to those that a grand jury would ask and, therefore, would clearly further the state’s criminal investigation.

. Parker concerned an employer’s conversion suit against an employee who refused to answer a request for admissions on Fifth Amendment grounds, fearing possible criminal tax fraud charges. Baxter concerned the due process rights of a prisoner in a disciplinary proceeding in which inferences were allowed to be drawn from the prisoner’s silence.