In re Hyrum D.

Syllabus

The petitioner, the Commissioner of Children and Families, appealed from the judgments of the trial court revoking the commitment of the respondent mother's minor children to the custody of the petitioner and returning the children to the custody of the respondent. The petitioner claimed that the court exceeded its statutory authority (§ 46b-129 (m)) when it sua sponte revoked commitment of the minor children to the petitioner's custody when there was no motion pending before it and without providing all parties notice and a full evidentiary hearing. Held: The trial court, in sua sponte soliciting evidence from one party, the respon- dent, while denying that it was holding an evidentiary hearing, and, by failing to provide the petitioner notice that it intended to take additional evidence on the petitioner's own motion at a status review proceeding, effectively prevented the petitioner from meeting her burden as to the best interests of the children by preventing the petitioner from participating fully in the proceeding, and this court was not persuaded that the trial court's error was harmless. Argued December 10, 2024—officially released January 3, 2025