The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision to terminate a father's parental rights to his newborn child, rejecting his appeal in a memorandum decision issued Jan. 29.
The case, *In re C.S.-1*, involves Petitioner Father C.S.-2, who challenged the Circuit Court of Braxton County's Feb. 20, 2025, order terminating his parental rights. The Supreme Court determined that oral argument was unnecessary and issued a brief memorandum decision affirming the circuit court's ruling.
The Department of Human Services filed a second amended petition in October 2024, shortly after the child's birth, alleging that the father had an extensive criminal history. The petition specifically cited an incident of domestic battery against the child's mother in 2023, along with other violent felonies and drug offenses.
The DHS petition also revealed that the father's parental rights to other children had been involuntarily terminated previously due to domestic violence and substance abuse. According to the filing, the father had failed to correct these circumstances that led to the earlier terminations.
The case took a more serious turn the following month when DHS filed a third amended petition alleging that the father had tested positive for methamphetamine. This positive drug test provided additional evidence of ongoing substance abuse issues that the state argued made him unfit to parent.
During an adjudicatory hearing held in December 2024, the father made several significant admissions that proved crucial to the case's outcome. He stipulated to his lengthy criminal history, including the domestic violence incident against the child's mother. The father also acknowledged his ongoing substance abuse problems.
Perhaps most damaging to his case, the father admitted to the prior termination of his parental rights to other children due to domestic violence and substance abuse. He further acknowledged that he had failed to correct the issues that led to those earlier terminations.
Based on these admissions and the evidence presented, the circuit court made formal findings that proved decisive in the termination proceeding. The court adjudicated the father as an abusive and neglectful parent and determined that C.S.-1 was an abused and neglected child under state law.
The guardian appointed to represent the child's interests filed a report in January 2025 that provided additional context about the state's efforts to help the father. According to the report, DHS had provided the father with various services designed to address his underlying problems.
These services included anger management programs aimed at helping him control violent impulses, domestic violence counseling to address his pattern of abuse, and drug screening to monitor his substance use. Despite these interventions, the evidence suggested the father had not successfully addressed the core issues that led to his children being removed from his care.
The case represents part of West Virginia's broader efforts to protect children from parents who pose ongoing risks due to patterns of violence and substance abuse. State law allows for termination of parental rights when parents fail to remedy conditions that make them unfit to care for their children.
Parental rights termination cases require courts to balance the fundamental right of parents to raise their children against the state's compelling interest in protecting child welfare. Courts must find clear and convincing evidence that termination serves the child's best interests.
In this case, the father's extensive criminal history, documented domestic violence, ongoing substance abuse, and failure to correct these issues despite receiving services provided the evidence needed for termination. The fact that his rights to other children had been terminated previously for similar reasons likely strengthened the state's case.
The Supreme Court's decision to issue a memorandum decision rather than a full opinion suggests the justices viewed the case as straightforward given the father's admissions and the strength of the evidence. Memorandum decisions are typically used when the law is well-settled and the facts clearly support the lower court's ruling.
The affirmance means the father's parental rights to C.S.-1 are permanently terminated, freeing the child for potential adoption. The decision also sends a message about West Virginia's commitment to protecting children from parents who cannot or will not address serious problems that endanger child safety.
For the father, the ruling represents the final legal avenue for challenging the termination. While he retains theoretical rights to seek rehearing, such motions are rarely granted in parental rights cases where the evidence of unfitness is overwhelming.
The case highlights how patterns of domestic violence and substance abuse can have lasting consequences for parental rights, especially when parents fail to demonstrate meaningful progress in addressing these issues despite receiving state-provided services.