Melinda N. Deel, PLLC » Firm News

Melinda Deel Appears on Practical Law

Melinda Deel — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:54:30 +0000

Melinda Deel is the special guest this week on Henry Gornbein’s show Practical Law. She discusses a wide-range of issues involving Juvenile Law. If you are not able to catch the show on television, you can view it here:

Juvenile Cases from Bloomfield Township on Vimeo.

Melinda Deel Nominated as OCBA Board Candidate

Melinda Deel — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:15:24 +0000

The nominating committee of the Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA) has nominated Melinda Deel as a candidate for election to the Oakland County Bar Association’s Board of Directors. Melinda has been very active in the OCBA over the past ten years. She has served as the chairperson of the Juvenile Law Committee and the Law Related Education Committee. In 2007, she was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. She is a Fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. She was also a member of the Inns of Court.

Melinda Deel Discusses Appeals

Melinda Deel — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:15:05 +0000

On Thursday, February 10, 2010, Melinda Deel spoke to area attorneys as part of the Oakland County Bar Association’s Fundamentals of Juvenile Law Brown Bag Lunch Lecture at the Oakland County Bar Center in Bloomfield Hills. The topic of her lecture was “Appeals: From Beginning to End.” Ms. Deel discussed the all aspects of appeals from terminations of parental rights.

Melinda Deel Wins Directed Verdict

Melinda Deel — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:59:40 +0000

Melinda Deel won a directed verdict for a father wrongfully accused of sexually molesting his daughter last week. The Department of Human Services (DHS) sought to terminate his parental rights based on the allegations, despite the fact that he had never been criminally charged.

Ms. Deel demanded a jury trial on behalf of the father. After the prosecutor presented the evidence on behalf of DHS, Ms. Deel moved for directed verdict, arguing that on the facts and the law, the court had no jurisdiction over the matter. The Court agreed with Ms. Deel and dismissed the case without ever submitting the question to the jury.

Court of Appeals Reverses Termination of Mother’s Parental Rights

Melinda Deel — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:29:56 +0000

Melinda Deel wins reversal of the termination of a mother’s parental rights in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

On December 18, 2009, a mother’s parental rights were terminated to her one year old daughter. Her parental rights to five other children were previously terminated in 2004, and her parental rights to a sixth child were terminated in 2006. This most recent termination was her seventh.

Ms. Deel was appointed mother’s appellate counsel shortly after the trial. On December 7, 2010, the Court of Appeals reversed and restored mother’s parental rights to her daughter.

As a result of Ms. Deel’s advocacy, the Court wrote:

“Reviewing the evidence as a whole, we harbor serious doubts that the statutory grounds for termination were established by clear and convincing evidence as to (b)(ii), (g), and (j). A trial court may terminate parental rights pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(i) where:

Parental rights to 1 or more siblings of the child have been terminated due to serious and chronic neglect or physical or sexual abuse, and prior attempts to rehabilitate the parents have been unsuccessful.

Assuming, without deciding, that the above statutory basis was clearly and convincingly
established, we nevertheless reverse because clear and convincing evidence did not establish that termination was in the child’s best interests.

The Court explained:

the record does not support a finding that [the mother] is the same person that she was when her rights were terminated to the other children some years prior, and none of the prosecution’s witnesses testified that respondent’s parental rights should be terminated or that termination would be in the child’s best interests. Under the circumstances, we believe that the best interests of the child would have been better served by providing respondent additional services and an expanded opportunity to demonstrate her parenting ability.

You can view or download the Court of Appeals opinion here: In re Thomas

Story in the Oakland Co. Legal News

Melinda Deel — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:47:04 +0000

I am happy to announce that the Oakland County Legal News ran an article about the Juvenile Brown Bag Series in the August 6, 2009, edition. They interviewed me for the article regarding my role in establishing and moderating the program. They used a number of my quotes for the article. I am quite proud of t the Juvenile Brown Bag series. Now in its third year, the program continues to be a success.

The nice people at the Oakland County Legal News provided me with a .pdf version of the article. You can view or download the article here: Oakland County Legal News, August 6, 2009

Firm Launches

Melinda Deel — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:41:54 +0000

I am open for business this week. I am accepting GAL appointments from the Oakland County Probate Court. Next week, I will start taking child protection and delinquency appeals. Things are going well and I am enjoying spending more time with by boys.

Firm Launches in One Week

Melinda Deel — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:38:49 +0000

I am finishing up my duties as staff attorney for Judge Martha Anderson this week. My first official day of operation is April 13, 2009. I am very excited and look forward to hitting the ground running.