M.V.S. v. V.M.D.

I conclude that the trial court erred, as a matter of law, by finding that M.V.S. (the “father”) did not have a substantial relationship with the child. I agree with the application of Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248, 103 S.Ct. 2985, 77 L.Ed.2d 614 (1983), to this case. The Supreme Court stated in Lehr:

“When an unwed father demonstrates a full commitment to the responsibilities of parenthood by ‘comfing] forward to participate in the rearing of his child,’ Caban [v. Mohammed], 441 U.S. [380] at 392[, 99 S.Ct. 1760, 60 L.Ed.2d 297 (1979) ], his interest in personal contact with his child…