WI · jury_instructions

Wis JI-Children 300

Preliminary Instruction (General)

activein force · 2019-01-01 – presentas-observed

This is a fact-finding proceeding on a petition to terminate parental rights. It is

conducted pursuant to the Children's Code of this state. It is a civil, not a criminal,

proceeding.

This hearing is a part of the process that was started by the filing of a petition by

________________________. The petition asks that the parental rights of (parent) to

(child), a _____-year old (boy) (girl), be terminated. The petition alleges that the (child)

(insert grounds under Wis. Stat. § 48.415).

I want to emphasize to you that this hearing is only one part of a process that may

result in the termination of parental rights. You will not be asked to decide if

_________'s parental rights should be terminated. Your responsibility is to determine

whether the grounds for termination alleged in the petition have been proved. In doing

so, you should not consider what the final result of this proceeding might be. If you

determine that grounds for termination of (parent)'s parental rights have been proved, it is

my responsibility to determine whether (her) (his) (their) parental rights should be

terminated. 1

The petitioner, _________________, is represented in this proceeding by Attorney

__________.

The mother of (child) is (_____________). She is represented by Attorney

_____________. [The father of (child) is (_____________). He is represented by

Attorney _____________.] [Use the following if one parent is not in the courtroom:

(Parent), the (mother) (father) of (child), is not in the courtroom because (her) (his)

parental rights are not a part of this proceeding. 2]

The interests of (child) will be represented by Attorney ____________, who is the

child's guardian ad litem. 3 [(Child) is not in the courtroom because the laws governing

this proceeding do not require that (he) (she) attend.]

At the end of this hearing, you will be given a special verdict to answer. I will

give you further instructions on the law that applies to the verdict questions.

I want to remind you that (child) and (his) (her) family have a statutory right to

keep their identities confidential. This is why these proceedings are closed to the public.

You must never disclose the identity of the child or family members to anyone.

History

Wis JI-Children 300 (2019). ©2019, Regents, Univ. of Wis. Prepared by the Wisconsin Jury Instructions Committees of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference with the University of Wisconsin Law School; posted by the Wisconsin State Law Library with the University's permission.

Provenance

Source: wilawlibrary.gov
Retrieved: 2026-09-24
Edition: 2026-09-24
Content hash: 877470cf49853d37e7802368922e05496a8c9dfbf12d7394713c5e889c9b3536

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