In the Interest of E.N.C., J.A.C., S.A.L., N.A.G. and C.G.L., Minor Children

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that the evidence was legally insufficient to support termination of a deported immigrant father's parental rights under both the endangerment subsection of Family Code § 161.001(1)(E) and the best-interest prong of § 161.001(2). The Department relied on a decades-old Wisconsin conviction involving an underage girl and the resulting deportation, yet presented no evidence about the offense or the deportation, and the Court concluded that conjecture, worst-case supposition, and piled inferences cannot substitute for clear and convincing evidence. It further held that a lack of evidence (such as no record of the children's wishes) cannot support a best-interest finding and that a foster family's potentially superior resources is not a reason to terminate. The Court reversed the court of appeals' judgment in part—as to the father only—and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.