Texas Raises Bar for Terminating Parental Rights
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that lifetime protective orders separating parents from their children require a higher burden of proof, specifically “clear and convincing evidence,” mirroring the standard for terminating parental rights. This decision reverses a lower court’s lifetime order against Christine Stary, preventing her from seeing her children since 2020. The court found that such lengthy orders, significantly impacting a parent’s fundamental rights, necessitate this heightened evidentiary standard to ensure due process. The case will now be reheard under the corrected legal standard.
John Q. Hosedrinker