T.A. v. State, Department of Children & Families

The mother of three children appeals a judgment that terminated her parental rights. She argues that the judgment must be reversed because the order of termination was based on her failure to appear at the adjudicatory hearing. She also asserts that, to the extent that the trial court based the order of termination on the evidence presented, the order must be reversed because the evidence was insufficient to support the trial court’s findings. We agree with both of these contentions and reverse. Our resolution of these two issues makes it unnecessary for us to discuss the other two points…