In the Interest of Cooper

I fully join in the dissenting opinion written by Justice McFarland, but feel duty bound to call attention to difficult problems of interpretation and implementation of the court’s opinion and the havoc this opinion will cause in deprived child cases from the past where severance of parental rights has not been sought by the State.

The sole issue determined by the court in this case is whether in “deprived child” hearings where the State in the exercise of its parental power seeks to give care, guidance, and discipline such as will best serve the child’s welfare and where there may be a…