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No. 127292
| In re B.M.B., G.P.B., Minors, |
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Family Independence Agency, |
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Timothy K. Morris |
Petitioner-Appellant, |
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| v (St. Clair - Brown, E.) |
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| Lafraye Banks, |
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Michael L. West |
Respondent-Appellee. |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Petitioner-Appellant's Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Respondent-Appellee's Brief in Opposition to Application>>
Background
On October 3, 2003 , Lafraye Banks either dropped or threw her seven-month-old baby girl out of the second-floor bathroom window of her mother's house, seriously injuring the child. In the months following this incident, Banks received treatment for mental health problems. The Family Independence Agency (FIA) initiated court proceedings, concerned that Banks could not care properly for her two children. The family court explored Banks' mental illness and her response to treatment. The family court also heard testimony concerning the incident itself and Banks' parenting skills during the years before this incident. The family court referee concluded that the child's injury occurred as a result of Banks' then-existing mental health problems. He denied the FIA's petition to terminate Banks' parental rights because he could not conclude that there was a reasonable likelihood that Banks' children would suffer injury or abuse in the foreseeable future if they were returned to her care. The circuit court, however, set aside the referee's opinion and ordered that Banks' parental rights to both her children be terminated. The circuit judge found that Banks intentionally threw her youngest child out the bathroom window and that there was a reasonable likelihood that Banks' children would suffer injury or abuse in the future. He also concluded that there was no testimony at the trial that Banks' actions were the result of a mental illness. An order terminating Banks' parental rights to both of her children was entered November 6, 2003 . Less than a year later, a unanimous Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the trial court's conclusions were not supported by clear and convincing evidence. The FIA appeals.
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