M.S., THE FATHER
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
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The circuit court's final order terminating the father's parental rights was affirmed, and a question of great public importance was certified to the Florida Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of the 2014 amendment to section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes.
[1] The 2014 amendment to Florida Statutes section 39.806(1)(f), eliminating the nexus requirement between egregious conduct toward one child and termination of parental righ…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThis is a dependency case in which the father's parental rights were terminated by the circuit court. The case involves the application of Florida's s…
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Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Shari Africk Olefson, Judge; L.T. Case No. 19-2091DP. Albert W. Guffanti of Albert W. Guffanti, P.A., Miami, for appellant. Carolyn Schwarz of Children’s Legal Services, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee Department of Children and Families.
Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, and Sarah Todd Weitz, Senior Attorney, Statewide Guardian ad Litem office, Tallahassee, for appellee Guardian ad Litem.
PER CURIAM.
We affirm without discussion, on all arguments raised, the circuit court’s final order terminating the father’s parental rights. As in V.S. v. Department of Children & Families, 322 So. 3d 1153 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021), we also certify the following question of great public importance to the supreme court:
Does the 2014 amendment to section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes, which provides that no proof of nexus between egregious conduct toward one child is required to terminate the parental rights of the child’s siblings, unconstitutionally remove the state’s burden to prove that the egregious conduct poses a substantial risk of harm to each sibling and is the least restrictive means of protecting the sibling(s) from serious harm?
Affirmed; question certified. CONNER, C.J., GERBER and KUNTZ, JJ., concur. * * * Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.