Opinion
CA 09-1234
Opinion Delivered April 21, 2010
Appeal from the Union County Circuit Court, [NO. JV-2009-35-3], Honorable Edwin Keaton, Judge, Remanded.
This is an appeal from the termination of appellant's parental rights to her daughter, S.O., born January 19, 2009. Counsel for appellant has filed a motion to be relieved as counsel on appeal in accordance with Linker-Flores v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 359 Ark. 131, 194 S.W.3d 739 (2004), and Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 6-9(i), asserting that there are no meritorious issues that could arguably support an appeal. We reserve judgment on this motion pending clarification of the order from which this appeal is taken.
Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-27-341(b)(3)(B) (Repl. 2009) requires that grounds for termination of parental rights be found by clear and convincing evidence. However, in the order appealed from, the court finds that grounds for termination have been proven by a preponderance of the evidence. Although in a subsequent paragraph the court expressly found certain facts to have been proven by clear and convincing evidence, the order as written is sufficiently ambiguous to preclude us from saying with assurance that an appeal would be frivolous. We therefore remand to the trial court with directions to clarify the order.
Remanded.
VAUGHT, C.J., and BROWN, J., agree.