Lead Opinion
In this certified appeal,
The following facts and procedural history are relevant to our disposition of this appeal: "Daniel was born in 2006. He has two half siblings, born in 2012, who have a different father. Shortly after Daniel's birth, the Department of Children and Families (department) became involved with the family, and the department continued to be involved throughout a period of time extending to and after the birth of Daniel's half siblings, because of substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues. On September 27, 2012, the court granted the petitioner's motion for an order of temporary custody for all three children, which led to an adjudication of neglect and Daniel's commitment to the care and custody of the petitioner. Daniel was returned to his mother's care on January 24, 2013, under an order
of protective supervision. On September 17, 2013, the petitioner invoked a ninety-six hour hold on Daniel after being informed by a representative of the Family Based Recovery program that Daniel's mother was in a drug induced condition. The ninety-six hour hold was followed by a court order of temporary custody. The respondent was incarcerated at this time, and thus was not a potential resource for Daniel's care. The petitioner moved that the order of protective custody be modified to an order of commitment, which the court granted on October 8, 2013. Daniel has remained in the care and custody of the petitioner since that date." Id., at 324-25,
"On December 26, 2013, the petitioner filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Daniel's mother and the respondent, as well as the parental rights of the father of the half siblings. The termination of parental rights trial was held on February 3, 4 and 5, and June 24 and 25, 2015. The respondent was represented by counsel throughout the entire trial, and the respondent testified at trial. Several witnesses testified at trial, and multiple exhibits were admitted into evidence in this fully contested case." Id., at 325,
The trial court filed the memorandum of decision terminating the respondent's parental rights approximately two weeks after publication of our decision in
In re Yasiel R
. The respondent then appealed to the Appellate Court claiming that
In re Yasiel R.
required reversal of the trial
court's judgment because he did not receive a canvass before trial. Id., at 333,
The petitioner claims that the Appellate Court improperly concluded that this court's holding in In re Yasiel R. mandated reversal in the present case. Specifically, the petitioner claims that our holding in In re Yasiel R. was limited and that nothing this court said in that case requires a reversal in cases in which the trial concluded prior to the announcement of the canvass rule. The petitioner also claims that, even if the canvass rule applies in the present case, automatic reversal would be inappropriate and reversal should be considered on a case-by-case basis. On the other hand, the respondent claims that the Appellate Court properly reversed the trial court's judgment because the canvass rule applies retroactively to trials concluded after In re Yasiel R. and the failure to provide the canvass in the present case required automatic reversal. In support of this conclusion, the respondent claims that the general rule is that judicial decisions apply retroactively and our decision to reverse the judgment in In re Yasiel R. is a retroactive application of the canvass rule. Additionally, the respondent claims that the failure to provide the canvass requires reversal because the basis for reversal is the failure to provide the canvass, not "the way in which the case is ultimately tried." Because we conclude that the exercise of our supervisory authority in In re Yasiel R. is not applicable to the present case, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court.
We begin with a review of the principles regarding our supervisory authority. "It is well settled that [a]ppellate courts possess an inherent supervisory authority over the administration of justice .... Supervisory powers are exercised to direct trial courts to adopt judicial procedures that will address matters that are of utmost seriousness, not only for the integrity of a particular trial but also for the perceived fairness of the judicial system as a whole .... Under our supervisory authority, we have adopted rules intended to guide the lower courts in the administration of justice ...." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State
v.
Elson
,
Generally, cases in which we have invoked our supervisory authority for rule making have fallen into two categories.
In light of our observation that "[o]ur cases have not always been clear as to the reason for [the] distinction" between the two categories of cases;
State
v.
Diaz
,
When we exercise our supervisory authority to reverse a judgment, we are mindful of the interests of the opposing party in the case. In these cases, the
opposing party substantially complied with the law. See, e.g.,
In re Yasiel R.
, supra,
With these principles in mind, we review the exercise of our supervisory authority in
In re Yasiel R.
In that
case, after rejecting the respondent's claim that the trial court's failure to provide a canvass prior to submitting her case on the papers violated her procedural due process rights, this court concluded that such a canvass would enhance the "confidence in the integrity of the judicial system." Id., at 794,
Having considered the holding and the rationale of In re Yasiel R. , we conclude that the rule is not applicable in the present case. Our decision to expand the scope of our supervisory authority in In re Yasiel R. to apply the canvass rule and grant relief was predicated upon the extraordinary circumstances in that case and should not be construed to reach all other termination of parental rights cases in which the trial has concluded.
Such an automatic expansion of the scope of the exercise of our rule-making power to reach all other cases in which the trial has already concluded would disturb the countervailing interests of the party or parties against whom the rule would be imposed without proper consideration of the countervailing interests of those parties.
This is not to say that there are no circumstances in which we would apply the canvass rule to a case in which the trial has concluded. Indeed, in view of our analysis in In re Yasiel R. , if there is a case that presents the same essential procedural history-namely, a case where the respondent submitted himself or herself to a summary procedure without any assurance that he or she understood the risks of such a course of action, the trial concluded before we announced our decision in In re Yasiel R. , and the respondent timely appealed-we would apply the canvass rule to that case in order to grant relief on the basis of the precedential value of In re Yasiel R . This, however, would apply only to cases in which the trial has concluded and the respondent's right of appeal has not been exhausted or waived. In such a case, the rationale and holding of In re Yasiel R. , consistent with the principles underlying the exercise of our supervisory authority, would require reversal.
The conclusion reached by the Appellate Court illustrates the flaw in the respondent's claim that the canvass rule should apply in the present case because we granted relief in
In re Yasiel R
. This was a fully contested trial. The respondent, through counsel, cross-examined each of the five witnesses presented by the petitioner.
The respondent claims, and the Appellate Court concluded, that application of the three part test for nonretroactive application of judicial decisions discussed in
Neyland
v.
Board of Education
,
The judgment of the Appellate Court is reversed and the case is remanded to that court with direction to render judgment affirming the judgment of the trial court.
In this opinion ROGERS, C. J., and PALMER, McDONALD, ESPINOSA and ROBINSON, Js., concurred.
We granted the petition by the Department of Children and Families for certification to appeal limited to the following question: "Did the Appellate Court correctly reverse the trial court's judgment ordering the termination of parental rights by concluding that this court's decision in
In re Yasiel R.
,
Because the Commissioner of Children and Families acts on behalf of the Department of Children and Families, references to the petitioner include both the Department of Children and Families and the Commissioner of Children and Families.
The trial court also terminated the parental rights of the respondent mother, Nadine D. Her separate petition for certification to appeal was denied.
In re Daniel N.
,
We note that the counsel for the minor child has adopted the brief of the petitioner.
We note that supervisory authority has been invoked for purposes other than rule making. See, e.g.,
Blumberg Associates Worldwide, Inc.
v.
Brown & Brown of Connecticut, Inc.
,
The petitioner presented one witness, a social worker, on two separate occasions, once on February 3, 2015, and once more over the course of June 24 and 25, 2015. While the respondent's counsel declined to cross-examine the witness on February 3, he did cross-examine the witness on June 25.
"In
Neyland
v.
Board of Education
, [supra,
The respondent also asserts that the fact that the canvass rule we announced in
In re Yasiel R.
is to apply to
all
parents before trial in a termination of parental rights case demonstrates that it should be applied in the present case. To the extent that this claim forms a basis for retroactive application, we reject it. We require the canvass rule to apply to all parents, not regardless of whether the termination trial concluded prior to the release of our decision in that case, but rather regardless of whether the parent is represented by counsel or whether evidence presented is contested.
In re Yasiel R.
, supra,
Concurrence Opinion
I agree with the majority that the rule set forth in
In re Yasiel R
.,
