In re M.W. Children

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 948

Syllabus

CHILDREN – CUSTODY – EVIDENCE/WITNESS/TRIAL: When a parent is a party to a permanent-custody proceeding, his or her right to a reasonable opportunity to be present at trial must be balanced against the juvenile court's ability to manage its docket. While the juvenile court has a strong interest in the timely resolution of permanent-custody motions and in the speedy resolution of the issue of a child's custody, those interests must be balanced against a parent's constitutionally protected interest in the care, custody, and control of his or her children. The parent-child bond is an extremely important one, and when the state attempts to permanently terminate the relationship between a parent and child, the parent must be afforded every procedural and substantive protection including a due-process right to be present at permanent-custody hearings. While there is no mechanical test for deciding when the juvenile's court's denial of a parent's request to testify violates due process, when, in light of the importance of the parent-child bond, the record reflects that only a short delay was occasioned by a parent's single request for a continuance, the parent's presence at trial was necessary, and the juvenile court could have easily remedied the harm by permitting the parent to testify at the objections hearing, the court erred in overruling the parent's objections without taking additional evidence.