Mother objects to 5th Amendment inference in case over terminated parental rights

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted May 1, 2023 11:15 AM

YR’s son tested positive for methamphetamines and opiates when he was born. Relying on two U.S. Supreme Court cases about the 5th Amendment’s role in civil proceedings, YR asked the Washington Supreme Court to rule that the judge who terminated her parental rights — after a hearing where she declined to answer questions about her current drug use — erred by drawing an adverse inference from her silence.Affirming, the state high court concluded that “it was not error for the court to draw a negative inference from the …

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