D.R. v. Dep't of Children & Families
D.R. v. Dep't of Children & Families
Opinion of the Court
D.R., the Mother of L.G., a minor, appeals a final order terminating her parental rights. The Mother does not contest the grounds for termination or the sufficiency of the evidence, but argues that the trial court's adoption of a proposed order submitted by the Department of Children and Families requires reversal, because the court failed to conduct an independent analysis of the facts and law under Perlow v. Berg-Perlow ,
The 45-page proposed order, including several pages detailing the testimony, was submitted before trial began. Shortly after the trial ended, the trial court adopted the proposed order in full, with approximately one page of additional findings.
In reviewing an order terminating parental rights, the appellate court applies a highly deferential standard of review, and the decision of the lower court is presumed correct. N.L. v. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. ,
Here, while the timing of the submission of the proposed order and issuance of the final order raise legitimate concern, the inclusion of substantive changes by the trial judge indicates that the court exercised independent judgment. See T.D. ,
In addition, our consideration of the remaining factors is precluded by a deficiency in the record on appeal. The record contains no transcript of the trial and no indication that preparation of a transcript was ordered by the Mother's trial counsel. Nor did the Mother seek to supplement the record on appeal when this deficiency was pointed out in the Department's answer brief. See Snowden v. Wells Fargo Bank ,
Even in a termination of parental rights proceeding, the lack of a transcript mandates affirmance unless fundamental error appears on the face of the order. A.L. v. Dep't of Children & Families ,
AFFIRMED .
Wolf and Ray, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.