In Re: the Matter of Ronald Lee Willis

Summary

The court held that the State's initially justified emergency removal of Ronald Lee became unconstitutional when the child was retained for more than three years without giving the parents a meaningful hearing. It also upheld the juvenile court's decision to set aside the earlier termination order because the petition was legally insufficient and the proceeding lacked adequate notice and proper evidentiary safeguards. Reaching the merits of the later valid proceeding, the court found that clear, cogent, and convincing evidence did not establish current parental unfitness and reversed the termination, directing that Ronald Lee be restored to his natural parents. Justice Sprouse, dissenting, agreed that the prolonged temporary custody violated due process but would have upheld the termination based on the cumulative evidence of longstanding neglect and parental unfitness.