Melissa W. v. Department of Child Safety

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that court may draw negative inference based on parent’s failure to testify
• observing that “drawing a negative inference” from a parent’s failure to testify at a termination trial is “particularly appropriate”
• observing that “drawing a negative inference” from a parent’s failure to testify at a termination trial is “particularly appropriate”
• adding that there is “little benefit in adopting an approach that would permit a parent to forgo, without consequence, testifying about his or her ability to parent or about other circumstances relevant to the court’s determination”
• declining to address an appellant’s arguments that were not supported with citation to relevant authority
• “A juvenile court’s drawing a negative inference when a parent fails to testify at a severance hearing is particularly appropriate.”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).