In re England
Michigan Court of Appeals
887 N.W.2d 10 (2016)
- Written by Meredith Hamilton Alley, JD
Facts
E.M. was an Indian child whose father (defendant) had abused him. The Department of Human Health and Services (plaintiff) filed a petition to terminate the father’s parental rights. The trial court found that statutory grounds for termination of parental rights (TPR) were proven and that termination was in E.M.’s best interests. The father appealed, conceding that grounds for TPR were proven and that TPR was in E.M.’s best interests, but arguing that an evidentiary provision of the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) was unconstitutionally vague because it did not contain an evidentiary standard, allowing the court unstructured and unlimited discretion to determine whether the statute was violated. The MIFPA evidentiary provision contained the same language as § 1912(d) of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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