M.L.B. v. S.L.J.
United States Supreme Court
519 U.S. 102 (1996)
Relevant factsFree
A Mississippi Chancery Court permanently terminated M.L.B.'s (plaintiff) parental rights to her two children. She sought to appeal the decree against S.L.J. (defendant), acting as next friend of the children, but Mississippi required her to prepay $2,352.36 in record-preparation fees before her appeal could proceed; because she could not afford the fees, her appeal was dismissed, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
IssueFree
Whether a state, consistent with the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, may condition a parent's appeal from a decree terminating parental rights on the parent's ability to pay record-preparation fees.