New Jersey courts have regarded termination of parental rights as the most severe legal consequence to be issued by the courts, second only to the death penalty. The death penalty was abolished in 2007. Therefore, termination of parental rights is the most severe legal consequence that may be rendered in a court of law in this state.

It is, therefore, contrary to the administration of justice to detain parents on municipal warrants who appear in Superior Court to defend their Constitutional right to parent their child. Detention of a parent on a municipal warrant during a termination of parental rights (TPR) court appearance has far greater consequential magnitude than the penalty imposed by the municipal court. Enforcing the warrant during these proceedings has the practical effect of discouraging a parent from appearing at hearings affecting parental rights, including a trial to determine whether to terminate parental rights.

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