The statute does not permit a court to hold that any bad behavior whatsoever by a parent must inevitably lead to a finding that the child is dependent and neglected. The term “dependent and neglected child” is a defined term under the statute, so the [Trial] Court below was obliged to ascertain — and state — the subsection or subsections of the statute that it deemed applicable to the facts as found by the [Trial] Court. This was not done…. In this case, the [Trial] Court found only that, at some point prior to the Juvenile Court trial and for an undetermined period of time, Mother engaged in once-per-week marijuana use, and that Mother’s drug test in the September 2011 Juvenile Court proceeding was positive for marijuana. The [Trial] Court also indicated that Mother responded favorably to the Juvenile Court’s “wake-up call” and made the factual finding there was no evidence of illegal drug use since the Juvenile Court trial…. We must conclude that the fact that Mother at some point in the past engaged in once-per-week marijuana use and had a single positive drug test in September 2011, without more, does not amount to clear and convincing evidence that Mother is “unfit to properly care for [Son]” or that Son is dependent and neglected under any subsection in Section 37-1-102(b)(12).
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 02:47:45 +0000
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