Michigan Court Finds One-Parent Doctrine Unconstitutional

Another case came down this week in support of parental rights.  This time in Michigan.  You can find a syllabus of the case HERE.

The Michigan Supreme Court found that a procedure known as the one-parent doctrine infringed on the rights of a non-adjudicated parent.  The one-doctrine provides that if the court's jurisdiction has been established by the adjudication of one parent to a child, then the court can enter dispositional orders affecting the parent rights of both parents.  In this case only the mother had been adjudicated as unfit, but the father was required to comply with a service plan before the children were returned to his custody.  The Supreme Court found that due process requires that a parent be adjudicated as unfit before the state can infringe on the parent's constitutionally protected parent-child relationship.