S-22-0312 In re Interest of Denzel D., Jr. et al., Children Under Eighteen Years of Age, State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Denzel D., Sr. (Appellant)
Appeal from the County Court for Hall County, Judge Alfred E. Corey, III
Attorneys: Sonya K. Poland (Poland Law Office for Appellant) and Christopher J. Harroun (Hall County Attorney’s Office for Appellee).
Juvenile: Termination of Parental Rights, Best Interests, and Long-term Permanency Objectives
Proceedings below: The County Court for Hall County entered an order terminating the parental rights of Denzel D., Sr. to his children after finding a factual basis existed pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 43-292(2) and (7) and that termination of parental rights served the best interests of the minor child. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed, in part, vacated, and remanded the matter finding that termination of the father’s parental rights did not serve the child’s best interests and ordered a permanency plan of guardianship with the paternal grandmother. See In re Interest of Denzel D., Jr., 31 Neb.App. 547, 985 N.W.2d 45 (2023). The State of Nebraska filed a Petition for Further Review, which the Supreme Court granted and ordered that this matter be transferred to its docket.
Issues: On Petition for Further Review, Appellee makes the following statement of error: The Court of Appeals erred in vacating the juvenile court’s order denying Denzel D. Sr.’s request for guardianship by failing to examine Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-1312.01(1) and in reversing the juvenile court’s order terminating Denzel D. Sr.’s parental rights by allowing its guardianship analysis to taint its best-interests-analysis, by failing to consider whether Denzel D. Sr.’s actions that resulted in his incarceration and his continued incarceration demonstrated neglect, and by finding that the facts did not show that it was in Denzel D. Jr.’s best interests that Denzel D. Sr.’s rights be terminated.