Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Indiana Supreme Court granted the transfer of one case last week in which the state’s appellate court had reversed the termination of a mother’s parental rights.
In October, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the Marion Superior Court’s order terminating a mother’s parental rights to her two minor children after finding the Indiana Department of Child Services did not properly serve the mother.
The mother had appealed the trial court’s order, arguing DCS failed to establish service of process upon her because the claimed service wasn’t verified by the DCS employee who claimed to have served her.
The appellate court agreed. When applying statutory construction to the trial rule, the court concluded the rule is “unambiguously mandatory.”
DCS failed to comply with the rule by not calling as a witness the DCS employee who claims to have served the mother or introducing the employee’s deposition into evidence.
The case was also remanded “for further proceedings consistent with Mother’s due process rights.”
DCS appealed to the high court, which has now vacated the appellate court’s decision.
The case is Termination: D.C. v. Indiana Department of Child Services, et al., 24S-JT-135.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.