Jacob Earls, Appellant v. Arkansas Department of Human Services and Minor Children, S.m. and D.m., Appellees

Summary

The court reversed the termination of Jacob Earls's parental rights and remanded because the record did not establish his legal status as a parent before the statutory twelve-month periods were applied. Although DNA testing showed a very high probability that Earls was the children's biological father, the circuit court continued to treat him as a putative father and entered no order establishing his legal status. Justice Wood, dissenting, would have affirmed, concluding that the circuit court recognized Earls as the biological and legal father and that the statutory-interpretation argument concerning the twelve-month periods was unpreserved.