in Re treece/allen Minors ( 2016 )

STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
UNPUBLISHED
In re TREECE/ALLEN, Minors. March 29, 2016
No. 328684
Macomb Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 2013-000480-NA
Before: RONAYNE KRAUSE, P.J., and JANSEN and STEPHENS, JJ.
RONAYNE KRAUSE, P.J. (concurring).
I concur in the result reached by the majority and, with one exception, I also concur in the
majority’s reasoning. I respectfully disagree that, under the circumstances of this specific case
and on this particular record, the domestic violence perpetrated on respondent was a proper basis
for terminating respondent’s parental rights. Nevertheless, I agree that termination was proper
for the remaining reasons as set forth by the majority. This was a situation in which respondent
was a victim of domestic violence and not a perpetrator. There are many reasons that a victim of
domestic violence may not leave a violent relationship and this Court has held that a parent’s
parental rights may not be terminated because he or she is a victim of domestic violence. In re
Plump, 294 Mich App 270, 273; 817 NW2d 119 (2011). I simply will not be a part of the
majority’s decision to hold the fact that respondent was a victim of domestic violence against her
when it is directly contrary to case law. I have also written a concurrence in a previous opinion
that further outlines the significant dynamics of domestic violence that may cause a victim to
stay with an abuser. See, In re Sehy Minor, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of
Appeals, issued August 14, 2012 (Docket No. 306370).
/s/ Amy Ronayne Krause
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