J.T. v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

As the majority acknowledges, there is a heavy burden placed upon the party seeking to terminate the parent-child relationship. Bush v. Dietz, 284 Ark. 191, 680 S.W.2d 704 (1984). As the United States Supreme Court stated when setting the “clear and convincing” standard of proof in Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982), an allegation of parental unfitness must “adequately [convey] to the factfinder [a] level of subjective certainty about [the] factual conclusions . . . since the private interest affected is commanding and the threatened loss is permanent.” I respectfully dissent because I…