In re S. F.

Syllabus

The respondent father appealed from the judgments of the trial court termi- nating his parental rights with respect to his minor children. The father claimed that he was denied due process because his trial counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to object to the admission into evidence of hearsay contained in testimony and exhibits submitted by the petitioner, the Commissioner of Children and Families. Held: The father did not demonstrate that his counsel rendered ineffective assis- tance, as there were one or more possible strategic reasons that were objectively reasonable for not objecting to the exhibits and testimony. The father did not show that his counsel's vigorous cross-examination of a social worker for the Department of Children and Families in lieu of objecting to hearsay in the department's social study was not objectively reasonable. Argued September 10—officially released October 30, 2024