Georgia Supreme Court sends child neglect case back to lower court

Two children in Gwinnett County could be returned to their mother after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that a juvenile court used the wrong legal standard when it found she had neglected them.

What happened: Starlita Moore lost custody of her two children, born in 2017 and 2020, after a February 2024 incident in Hall County in which she rammed through a security gate with her car, crashed into another vehicle, banged on apartment doors screaming for residents to let her in, loaded a firearm in a stairwell, and then led police on a chase before trying to drive into a lake. After being arrested, she told officers she was looking for her children, who she said were “with the devil.” A psychiatrist later diagnosed her with a manic episode.

What the court decided: A juvenile court had ruled the children were neglected because Moore had an untreated mental health condition, relying on a state law that allows courts to consider a parent’s health problems when deciding whether a child is being properly cared for. The Supreme Court said that law requires more than just proof that a parent has a diagnosed condition. A doctor or other medical professional must also provide evidence about how serious the condition is and how long it is likely to last before a court can use it to take children away. No such evidence was presented in Moore’s case.

What’s new: The Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals ruling that had sided with the juvenile court. The case now goes back to the juvenile court, which must decide whether other evidence in the record supports keeping the children in state custody.

What this means for you: Parents in Georgia facing child dependency proceedings cannot lose custody based solely on a mental health diagnosis. A medical professional must also testify or provide evidence about the expected duration or seriousness of the condition.

The path forward: The juvenile court may still find the children dependent, but it must look at the full record and may rely on legal grounds beyond the mental health statute the original ruling was based on.