Matter of Andrew R.

Andrew R. (defendant) was a 13-year-old boy who had some minor emotional issues but was otherwise an intelligent and well-behaved child. Despite not wanting to do so, Andrew was persuaded by his father (plaintiff) to voluntarily enter a residential treatment center (the center) for what Andrew believed was to be only one month. However, Andrew’s father left Andrew at the center for seven months without any judicial review of whether Andrew’s placement was warranted. Andrew ran away from the center, returned home, and pleaded with his father not to force Andrew to return to the center. When Andrew’s father demanded that Andrew return to the center, Andrew threatened to kill his father. Andrew’s father handed Andrew a knife and told Andrew to go ahead and do so. Andrew did not. Subsequently, Andrew’s father filed a petition alleging that Andrew was a person in need of supervision (PINS), because Andrew was beyond the lawful control of his parents and was consistently truant from school. During a fact-finding hearing in which Andrew and his father were the only testifying witnesses, the attorney representing Andrew’s father attempted to elicit testimony from Andrew about additional alleged misbehavior that was not set specifically forth in the petition. The family court sustained an objection by the guardian ad litem as a matter of law and constitutional due process. The family court ruled on the petition.