State ex rel. Washington County Juvenile Department v. K.M.S.

The circuit court for Washington County terminated the parental rights of the mother, K.M.S., to three of her children, ages four, three and two. She appeals, assigning two principal grounds for reversal: (1) that the preponderance-of-evidence standard of proof established by ORS 419.525(2) is unconstitutional and (2) that there is insufficient evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the mother failed or neglected without reasonable and lawful cause to provide for the basic physical and psychological needs of the children for one year prior to the filing of the petition to…