David N. v. Jason N.

LAKE, Chief Justice.

In this custody case, the question presented for review is whether the trial court’s finding that defendant Jason N. is a fit and proper person to care for the minor child, J.L.N., precludes its conclusion of law that defendant waived his constitutionally protected status as a natural parent based upon his conduct of abandonment and neglect.

The Court of Appeals’ majority reversed the trial court, holding that the trial court’s “finding of [defendant’s] fitness is inconsistent with the conclusion of law that he not be afforded his constitutional right to parent his child.”…