Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 11, 1995 TAG: 9504110121
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
In an unusual step, Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood tried to start the process of revoking the parental rights of Clyde and Alice Barrett last fall.
Clyde Barrett is serving a three-year jail sentence for felony neglect of his daughter, Ruby. His appeal recently was denied by a state appellate court, Hapgood said.
Alice Barrett was sentenced to 60 days in jail on the same charge. A judge suspended the sentence pending an appeal.
She since has had another child.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge David Melesco wrote: "Philosophically, I agree with Mr. Hapgood that the interest of children would be better protected if more parties had standing [to file for termination of parental rights], but I cannot find any statutory or case authority to support this view."
Melesco had sought information from the attorney general's office regarding Hapgood's move to start termination proceedings.
The ruling, which Hapgood said he will try to appeal, is based on Virginia law that states that a party with "legitimate interest" in a child can begin termination proceedings.
"The problem is that Mr. Hapgood is not a party with a legitimate interest," Melesco wrote. "The commonwealth attorney does not have a direct relationship with the child as I believe [state law] envisions."
However, Hapgood said that, as the county's chief prosecutor, he's supposed to look out for the best interest of its residents.
"The basic issue here is: Are you going to protect a helpless person?'' he said. "We need to take another look at how the courts are handling this issue. If you're going to be cautions, why not be cautious on the side of the child, instead of the parents?''
Hapgood said state law now allows a legal guardian or a department of social services to file for termination of parental rights. Foster parents cannot start the process.
In Ruby's case, Hapgood said he feared for her safety and was trying to intervene in fear that no one else would.
Rocky Mount lawyer Tim Allen, Ruby's court-appointed legal guardian, said Monday that he hasn't decided if he'll file for termination. He said he has been told by social workers that Alice Barrett is fulfilling her role as a mother with her new child.
Earlier this year, Allen, representing a retarded father, argued against termination proceedings in front of the state Court of Appeals.
"These are sad cases," he said. "But I think Judge Melesco's ruling was appropriate. The way the state statute is set up, termination is the absolute last resort."
Allen said if a prosector were allowed to file for termination, it might open the door for others to do the same thing - a situation that could cause more harm than good.
But Hapgood, at least in the case of Ruby Barrett, takes a different view.
"At some point, rehabilitating the family works against the child," he said. "These things can go on for years and years and years."
Ruby's story came to the attention of the Rocky Mount Police Department on Halloween night in 1993. Ruby, then 9 months old, was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital by a family friend who was worried about the infant's dangling arm and loud cries.
Doctors examined Ruby and discovered her arm was broken.
X-rays showed earlier injuries - another broken arm and a fractured shoulder - that had healed without medical attention.
The Police Department turned Ruby over to the Department of Social Services. She is now with foster parents and visits with her mother according to a court-established schedule.
The foster parents bring Ruby to see Hapgood from time to time.
"She's a bright little girl," he said.
by CNB