K.A., THE MOTHER
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal denied the appellant's motion for rehearing but granted the motion to certify questions of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of two statutory provisions in section 39.806, Florida Statutes that allow termination of parental rights without requiring proof of nexus or substantial risk of harm to affected children.
The court denied the motion for rehearing but certified two questions of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court regarding whether these statutory provisions unconstitutionally shift the burden of proof and eliminate fundamental constitutional protections in parental termination cases.
[1] Section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes, as amended in 2014, permitting termination of parental rights based on egregious conduct toward one child without proving nexus to…
[2] Section 39.806(1)(l), Florida Statutes, as amended in 2008, permitting termination of parental rights after three or more out-of-home placements without proving the paren…
Previewing 2 of 2 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[t]he constitutionality of the 2014 amendment to section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes, affects fundamental parental interests.”
Justification for certifying the constitutional questions to the Florida Supreme Court
This case involves a dependency proceeding in Broward County concerning the termination of parental rights. The court addressed constitutional challen…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Substantial Risk Of Serious Harm cases and more on FLexlaw
Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, and Sarah Todd Weitz, Senior Attorney, Appellate Division, Tallahassee, for appellee Guardian ad Litem.
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING AND MOTION TO CERTIFY QUESTIONS OF GREAT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE PER CURIAM.
We deny Appellant’s motion for rehearing. We grant the motion to certify questions of great public importance. As we noted in V.S. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 322 So. 3d 1229 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021), “[t]he constitutionality of the 2014 amendment to section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes, affects fundamental parental interests.” Id. at 1230. We once again certify the following question to the supreme court:
DOES THE 2014 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 39.806(1)(f), FLORIDA STATUTES, WHICH PROVIDES THAT NO PROOF OF NEXUS BETWEEN EGREGIOUS CONDUCT TOWARDS ONE CHILD IS REQUIRED TO TERMINATE THE PARENTAL RIGHTS OF THE CHILD’S SIBLINGS, UNCONSTITUTIONALLY REMOVE THE STATE’S BURDEN TO PROVE THAT THE EGREGIOUS CONDUCT POSES A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF HARM TO EACH SIBLING AND IS THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE MEANS OF PROTECTING THE SIBLING(S) FROM SERIOUS HARM? Moreover, we certify the following question concerning the constitutionality of section 39.806(1)(l), Florida Statutes:
DOES THE 2008 ADDITION OF SUBPARAGRAPH (l) TO SECTION 39.806(1), FLORIDA STATUTES, WHICH PROVIDES FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS WHEN “ON THREE OR MORE OCCASIONS THE CHILD OR ANOTHER CHILD OF THE PARENT OR PARENTS HAS BEEN PLACED IN OUT-OF-HOME CARE . . . AND THE CONDITIONS THAT LED TO THE CHILD’S OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT WERE CAUSED BY THE PARENT OR PARENTS,” UNCONSTITUTIONALLY REMOVE THE STATE’S BURDEN TO PROVE THAT THE PARENT’S OR PARENTS’ CONDUCT POSES A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF HARM TO THE CHILD OR CHILDREN AFFECTED BY THE TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AND IS THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE MEANS OF PROTECTING THE CHILD OR CHILDREN FROM SERIOUS HARM? CONNER, C.J., FORST and KUNTZ, JJ., concur. * * * Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.