Termination of Parental Rights

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. K.J., et al.

Case No.: 2016AP1501; 2016AP1502; 2017AP0720; 2017AP0721

Officials: KESSLER, J.

Focus: Termination of Parental Rights

On appeal, K.J. and A.W. argue that: (1) the circuit court erred when it denied the parents’ postdisposition motions without a hearing; (2) the circuit court had no competence to proceed with Diane’s second TPR because the underlying CHIPS order expired following the denial of the State’s first TPR petition; (3) issue preclusion applied to the second TPR trial and counsel was ineffective for failing to raise the issue; (4) the circuit court erroneously considered evidence relating to the abuse of Diane’s older brother; and (5) a finding of error causing reversal of Diane’s case would necessitate reversal of Andrew’s case pursuant to the doctrine of prejudicial spillover. We address each issue.

K.J. and A.W. appeal the orders terminating their parental rights to their children, Diane and Andrew. They also appeal the order denying their postdisposition motions. We affirm.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.