Termination of Parental Rights

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WI Court of Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. B. W.

Case No.: 2022AP001329

Officials:

Focus: Termination of Parental Rights

Summary (“Please summarize the following decision in under 250 words”)

The court of appeals had affirmed the termination of B.W.’s parental rights and denied his motion to withdraw his no-contest plea. B.W. contested two issues: whether the circuit court’s plea colloquy was defective due to miscommunication of the burden of proof at disposition, and whether the court improperly relied on the adoptive parent’s assurances of continued visitation.

B.W. argued that the plea colloquy misled him by implying that the heightened “clear, satisfactory, and convincing” burden of proof applied at both the grounds and disposition phases, rather than the “best interests of the child” standard. He claimed this miscommunication prevented him from understanding the full consequences of his plea. Additionally, B.W. contended that the court erred in considering the adoptive parent’s promise to allow continued contact when terminating his rights.

The Supreme Court concluded that B.W. did not make a prima facie case for a defective plea colloquy. The circuit court had correctly informed B.W. that the primary factor at disposition was the best interests of the child, not the heightened burden of proof. Furthermore, the court found that the circuit court did not improperly rely on the adoptive parent’s assurance but appropriately exercised its discretion by weighing statutory dispositional factors.

Thus, the Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ decision, upholding the termination of B.W.’s parental rights.

Decided 06/27/24

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