In the Interest of D.C.S.H.C.

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Dakota affirmed the termination of K.C.'s parental rights, holding that her appearance by telephone while incarcerated in Minnesota provided a meaningful opportunity to be heard. The court applied a case-by-case balancing of the Mathews v. Eldridge factors and concluded that denying a continuance for an in-person appearance did not violate procedural due process.

Holdings

1. A prisoner does not have a constitutional right to appear in person at a termination-of-parental-rights hearing; the right may be satisfied through counsel and an alternative meaningful opportunity to participate, including a telephone appearance.
2. The denial of K.C.'s request for a continuance was not an abuse of discretion.
3. K.C. was afforded a meaningful opportunity to be heard, and her intermittent telephone participation did not violate procedural due process.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the judicial referee abused its discretion by denying K.C.'s request to continue the termination-of-parental-rights hearing so she could appear in person.
2. Whether K.C.'s intermittent participation by telephone, while incarcerated in another state, denied her procedural due process.

Disposition

affirmed