Issue

Preservation of issues—constitutional rights of parent—determined by district court on its own initiative—not challenged in trial court

Summary

In a neglect proceeding resulting in the temporary placement of a juvenile with relatives, where the district court on its own initiative determined that the father had acted in a manner inconsistent with his constitutional rights as a parent but the father did not challenge that determination on constitutional grounds, that issue was not preserved for appellate review–a result in conformance with the longstanding precedent that constitutional arguments not raised in a trial court will not be considered for the first time on appeal, in part to ensure that parties have notice and an opportunity to present relevant evidence on the matter. In addition to reversing the lower appellate court's decision in the instant case, the Supreme Court expressly overruled the contrary preservation holding by the Court of Appeals in In re B.R.W. and its progeny.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →