HB 326: "An Act relating to the right to a jury trial in cases involving termination of parental rights; and amending Rules 18(b), 18(e), and 18(g), Alaska Child in Need of Aid Rules of Procedure."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 326 01 "An Act relating to the right to a jury trial in cases involving termination of parental 02 rights; and amending Rules 18(b), 18(e), and 18(g), Alaska Child in Need of Aid Rules of 03 Procedure." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 25.23.180(f) is amended to read: 06 (f) Before the petition is heard, notice of the hearing on the petition and 07 opportunity to be heard shall be given the parents of the child, the guardian of the 08 person of the child, the person having legal custody of the child, and, in the discretion 09 of the court, a person appointed to represent any party. The parent shall be given 10 notice of the right to a jury trial on the petition, and the opportunity to waive 11 that right. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 47.10 is amended by adding a new section to read: 13 Sec. 47.10.007. Right to jury trial in certain cases. A parent is entitled to a 14 jury trial for a hearing under this chapter on a petition to terminate parental rights; a
01 parent may waive this right. If a hearing to adjudicate whether a child is a child in 02 need of aid is consolidated with a termination hearing, the right to trial by jury under 03 this section applies only to whether parental rights should be terminated after the court 04 has adjudicated that the child is a child in need of aid. In this section, "parent" has the 05 meaning given in Rule 2, Alaska Child in Need of Aid Rules of Procedure. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 47.10.088(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) Except as provided in AS 47.10.080(o), the rights and responsibilities of 08 the parent regarding the child may be terminated for purposes of freeing a child for 09 adoption or other permanent placement if the court, or, in a jury trial, the jury, finds 10 by clear and convincing evidence that 11 (1) the child has been subjected to conduct or conditions described in 12 AS 47.10.011; 13 (2) the parent 14 (A) has not remedied the conduct or conditions in the home 15 that place the child at substantial risk of harm; or 16 (B) has failed, within a reasonable time, to remedy the conduct 17 or conditions in the home that place the child in substantial risk so that 18 returning the child to the parent would place the child at substantial risk of 19 physical or mental injury; and 20 (3) the department has complied with the provisions of AS 47.10.086 21 concerning reasonable efforts. 22 * Sec. 4. AS 47.10.088(b) is amended to read: 23 (b) In making a determination under (a)(2) of this section, the court, or, in a 24 jury trial, the jury, may consider any fact relating to the best interests of the child, 25 including 26 (1) the likelihood of returning the child to the parent within a 27 reasonable time based on the child's age or needs; 28 (2) the amount of effort by the parent to remedy the conduct or the 29 conditions in the home; 30 (3) the harm caused to the child; 31 (4) the likelihood that the harmful conduct will continue; and
01 (5) the history of conduct by or conditions created by the parent. 02 * Sec. 5. AS 47.10.088(c) is amended to read: 03 (c) In a proceeding under this chapter involving termination of the parental 04 right of a parent, the court, or, in a jury trial, the jury, shall consider the best 05 interests of the child. 06 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 07 read: 08 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 18(b), Alaska Child in Need 09 of Aid Rules of Procedure, is amended to read: 10 (b) Purpose of Hearing. The termination hearing is a disposition hearing to 11 the court or a jury on the question of whether the parental rights to an adjudicated 12 child in need of aid should be terminated. Upon a showing of good cause and with 13 adequate notice to the parties, an adjudication hearing and a termination hearing may 14 be consolidated. 15 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 16 read: 17 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 18(e), Alaska Child in Need 18 of Aid Rules of Procedure, is amended to read: 19 (e) Trial. A trial on the petition to terminate parental rights shall be held 20 within six months after the date on which the petition to terminate parental rights is 21 filed, unless the court finds that good cause is shown for a continuance. When 22 determining whether to grant a continuance for good cause, the court shall take into 23 consideration the age of the child and the potential adverse effect that the delay may 24 have on the child. The court shall make written findings when granting a continuance. 25 A parent has the right to a jury trial for a hearing on a petition to terminate 26 parental rights; a parent may waive this right. 27 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 18(g), Alaska Child in Need 30 of Aid Rules of Procedure, is amended to read: 31 (g) Judgment. The court shall make findings of fact for matters tried to the
01 court and shall enter an order within 90 days after the last day of trial on the petition 02 to terminate parental rights. The court shall commit the child to the custody of the 03 Department if parental rights are terminated. 04 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 05 read: 06 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to trials on petitions to terminate parental rights 07 that are filed on or after the effective date of this Act. 08 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 09 read: 10 TWO-THIRDS VOTE NOT REQUIRED. Sections 6 - 8 of this Act take effect 11 without needing to meet the two-thirds vote requirement normally applicable to changing 12 court rules under art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska because 13 (1) the provisions of Rule 18(b), 18(e), and 18(g), Alaska Child in Need of 14 Aid Rules of Procedure, that are affected by the provisions of this Act were adopted under the 15 Alaska Supreme Court's interpretive authority exercised under art. IV, sec. 1, Constitution of 16 the State of Alaska; 17 (2) AS 47.10.007, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, establishes a substantive right, 18 and the changes made in secs. 3 - 8 of this Act are technical changes necessary to give effect 19 to the substantive right established in AS 47.10.007, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act.