Paternity not established in Washington County case, court rules

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a child custody case saying it was never legally proven a man was the father of a child being taken away by the state.

Jonathan Terry appealed a ruling by Washington County Circuit Judge Stacey Zimmerman after she terminated his parental rights.

Terry was incarcerated when the state Department of Human Services moved in November 2017 to take two children from their mother, citing claims of neglect. Terry said he was the father of one of the children, A.T., but did not attend the hearings.

The court found the state didn't prove Terry is the child's parent.

Human Services argued Terry's parental status was never questioned throughout the entire case and the circuit court never required either Terry or Human Services to prove Terry's paternity status because Terry was "always treated as a parent" and "received the process due a parent."

"The essential point here is that a person's reference to himself as a father is not the clear and convincing proof a circuit court must have when determining whether a man is a parent under Arkansas law," justices wrote in the opinion. "Therefore, the court could not terminate any purported parental rights as between Terry and A.T."

Zimmerman's ruling in the case was reversed and the case was returned to her for further proceedings.

NW News on 12/13/2019

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