In Vermont and a minority of other states, hearsay may be admitted and relied upon in a proceeding to permanently terminate a person's parental rights. Given the gravity of the interests at stake, may states engage in imprecise "balancing of interests" tests to determine what due process rights parents are entitled to when the government seeks to permanently take their children? Or does the historically-established fundamental right to conceive and raise children without interference require a more objective, bright-line protection similar to the tests used to govern the deprivation of other historically-established and traditional rights?

Whether the fundamental right to conceive and raise children without government interference requires a more objective, bright-line protection similar to the tests used to govern the deprivation of other traditional rights, rather than a balancing of interests test