Justia Connecticut Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Appellee-Petitioner, Commissioner of Children and Families, sought to terminate the parental rights of Respondent-Father to his child, Samantha S. After trial began, Respondent entered into an agreement to terminate his rights. After examining Respondent to ensure his consent was valid and termination was in the child's best interest, the trial court terminated Respondent's parental rights. Thereafter, Respondent learned that Petitioner had agreed to consider his petition for a declaratory ruling given Petitioner's purported duty to promote open adoption, and filed a motion to reopen his case to seek that option. The lower court ruled that Respondent's imperfect knowledge of the status of the declaratory judgment could not be used as a defense against terminating his parental rights, and Respondent appealed. This Court reviewed the entire record and dismissed Respondent's appeal.