Custody of a Minor

The natural mother has requested a rehearing of the decision of this court in Custody of a Minor (No. 2), ante 290 (1982), in light of Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982). In that decision, issued twelve days after our opinion, the United States Supreme Court held that “at a parental rights termination proceeding, a near-equal allocation of risk between the parents and the State is constitutionally intolerable,” id. at 768, and that, therefore, a “fair preponderance of the evidence” standard does not meet the requirements of the due process clause. Id. This is true even if the State…