dissenting:
The majority purports to hold that “prior to January 1,1998, section 1 — 5(3) did not require the trial courts to admonish parents that they risked having their parental rights terminated if they failed to cooperate with DCFS or comply with the terms of the service plans.” 208 Ill. 2d at 167. However, this is not, in fact, what the majority decides. The majority merely determines that, under the circumstances presented in the case at bar, T.F.’s due process rights were not violated by the trial court’s failure to admonish him of the need to cooperate with DCFS. The majority fails to provide any analysis on the broader issue which it claims to be addressing under the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine. Because the majority does not reach the issue which is its only justification for assuming jurisdiction over this appeal, the public interest exception is not satisfied. For this reason, I respectfully dissent.
In the case at bar, the circuit court granted the State’s petition to terminate the parental rights of Andrea’s father, T.F., after finding that T.F. was unfit because he: (1) failed to maintain a reasonable degree of interest, concern or responsibility for Andrea, and (2) failed to make reasonable efforts to correct conditions which led to Andrea’s removal or to make reasonable progress toward Andrea’s return within the nine months following adjudication. The appellate court reversed the termination order, holding that the circuit court violated section 1 — 5(3) of the Juvenile Court Act and TF.’s due process rights because the court failed to admonish T.F. at the time of T.F.’s first appearance before the court, at the time of Andrea’s adjudication, and at the time of the dispositional hearing that his parental rights could be terminated if he should fail to cooperate with DCFS, comply with DCFS service plans, or correct conditions that caused Andrea to be removed from T.F.’s custody. We granted the State’s petition for leave to appeal to decide whether the failure to give the particular admonishments at issue here was a statutory violation which implicated constitutional rights.
Before 1998, section 1 — 5(3) of the Act required courts to “explain the nature of the proceedings and inform the parties of their rights under the first two paragraphs of this Section.” 705 ILCS 405/1 — 5(3) (West 1996). The rights afforded by these paragraphs included the right to be present, the right to be heard, the right to present evidence, the right to cross-examine witnesses, the right to examine court files and records, and the right to be represented by counsel. 705 ILCS 405/1 — 5(1) (West 1996). Section 1 — 5(3) was amended by Public Act 90— 28, effective January 1, 1998. It requires the circuit court to admonish parents at the time of their first appearance, upon adjudication, and following the dispositional hearing, that they “must cooperate with [DCFS], comply with the terms of the service plans, and correct the conditions that require the child to be in care, or risk termination of their parental rights” 705 ILCS 405/1 — 5(3), 2 — 21(1), 2 — 22(6) (West 1998).
In the case at bar, all of the relevant hearings — first appearance, adjudication and disposition — took place prior to January 1, 1998. The appellate court agreed that the pre-amended version did not explicitly require the admonishments at issue here, but held that the statute implicitly required the court to give these admonishments as part of its duty to inform parents of their rights regarding the “nature of the proceedings” and because the failure to so admonish parents would be a violation of the parents’ due process rights.
The appeal in this matter has been rendered moot by the fact that T.F. has subsequently executed a surrender of his parental rights. The majority, however, finds that the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine should be applied to consider “whether circuit courts were required under former section 1 — 5(3) of the Act to admonish parents that they risked termination of their parental rights if they failed to cooperate with DCFS.” 208 Ill. 2d at 157. The public interest exception applies, the majority claims, because the State has asserted that “the appellate court’s decision threatens to disturb a great number of dispositions under the Act where the initial court appearance, adjudicatory hearing, or dispositional hearing occurred prior to January 1, 1998.” 208 Ill. 2d at 157.
The issue of public importance, to justify the invocation of the public interest exception, therefore, is the correctness of the appellate court’s determination that “as a matter of due process, section 1 — 5(3)’s requirement that [parents] be informed of the nature of the proceedings included the right to be admonished that [they] risked termination of [their] parental rights if [they] failed to cooperate with DCFS or to comply with the terms of [the] service plan.” 208 Ill. 2d at 162. However, this is not the issue which the majority answers.
The majority cites Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 47 L. Ed. 2d 18, 96 S. Ct. 893 (1976), for the factors to be considered when determining what process is due in proceedings implicating fundamental liberty interests. While purporting to apply these factors to the present case, the majority, in essence, engages in harmless error review, holding:
“We find that the risk that T.F. was erroneously deprived of [the fundamental interest in the care, custody and control of his child] as a result of the failure to give the admonishment in question is minimal because the record amply demonstrates that T.F. was aware of the need to cooperate with DCFS and that his parental rights could be terminated.” (Emphasis added.) 208 Ill. 2d at 166.
Thus, the majority answers a question which is quite narrow, i.e., whether T.F.’s due process rights were violated. The issue of public importance, and the one which purportedly threatens to disturb a great number of other dispositions, is much broader: whether the requirement in former section 1 — 5(3) that circuit courts inform parents of the nature of the proceedings includes, as a matter of due process, the requirement that circuit courts admonish parents that they risked the termination of their parental rights if they failed to cooperate with DCFS.
As it stands, the majority does not resolve the issue which threatens to disturb the “great number of dispositions under the Act where the initial court appearance, adjudicatory hearing, or dispositional hearing occurred prior to January 1, 1998.” Employing the majority’s analysis, each case will have to be examined to determine whether the record demonstrates that the parent knew of his or her rights. Moreover, the majority’s opinion provides no guidance on the question of whether due process requires the admonishments in question in those instances where the record fails to affirmatively demonstrate that the parent was aware of the need to cooperate with DCFS. Thus, the public interest rationale for reviewing this appeal as an exception to the mootness doctrine is completely lost.
If the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine is to apply in this case, this court should and must decide whether, under former section 1 — 5(3), parents had to be admonished at the initial hearing, at adjudication, and at disposition, that they were required to cooperate with DCFS and comply with the service plans or risk termination of their parental rights and whether the failure to so admonish parents was a due process violation which requires that orders terminating their parental rights be reversed. Although the majority purports to answer this question, the analysis reveals that the question is still open. For this reason, I respectfully dissent.
JUSTICE FREEMAN joins in this dissent.
JUSTICE KILBRIDE,also dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. This appeal is moot and should be dismissed. Not only does this court lack jurisdiction to decide this case because there is no actual controversy, it fails to meet the rigid requirements of the public policy exception to the mootness doctrine. This court’s function is to decide controverted issues between real parties. Richardson v. Rock Island County Officers Electoral Board, 179 Ill. 2d 252, 256 (1997). It is not a function of this court to issue advisory opinions that have no effect whatsoever on the rights of the parties or the outcome of the case before the court.
This court’s jurisdiction is restricted to cases that present an actual controversy. Steinbrecher v. Steinbrecher, 197 Ill. 2d 514, 523 (2001). The existence of a real controversy is not a mere technicality; rather, it is a prerequisite to the exercise of this court’s jurisdiction. In re Adoption of Walgreen, 186 Ill. 2d 362, 365 (1999). Today’s opinion fails to follow the standards for applying the mootness exception as announced in In re J.B., 204 Ill. 2d 382 (2003), In re Tekela, 202 Ill. 2d 282 (2002), In re India B., 202 Ill. 2d 522 (2002), and Walgreen, 186 Ill. 2d 362.
The public policy exception to the mootness doctrine only exists when the question involved (1) is of a substantial public nature, (2) an authoritative determination for future guidance is needed, and (3) the circumstances are likely to recur. Walgreen, 186 Ill. 2d at 365; Richardson, 179 Ill. 2d at 256. This exception is to be narrowly construed. J.B., 204 Ill. 2d at 391; India B., 202 Ill. 2d at 543; Walgreen, 186 Ill. 2d at 365.
The question of whether circuit courts were required under the former section 1 — 5(3) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405/1 — 5(3) (West 1996)) to admonish parents that they risked termination of their parental rights if they failed to cooperate with DCFS simply does not meet the rigid requirements of the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine.
The majority concludes that, although the case is moot because T.F. voluntarily surrendered his parental rights several days before oral argument, authoritative guidance from this court is required because the State alleged during oral argument that “the appellate court’s decision threatens to disturb a great number of dispositions under the Act where the initial court appearance, adjudicatory hearing, or dispositional hearing occurred prior to January 1, 1998.” 208 Ill. 2d at 157. There is, however, no factual basis in the record to support the conclusion that a great number of dispositions, or, for that matter, any pre-1998 dispositions, are threatened to be disturbed.
This issue has not arisen in the past and it is almost certain not to recur in the future. This court’s authoritative guidance is not needed for future cases because all post-1998 initial appearances, adjudications, and dispositions are governed by the January 1, 1998, amendments to the Act, requiring trial courts to admonish parents that they “must cooperate with [DCFS], comply with the terms of the service plans, and correct the conditions that require the child to be in care, or risk termination of their parental rights” (705 ILCS 405/1 — 5(3), 2 — 21(1), 2 — 22(6) (West 1998)). Moreover, the need for authoritative guidance is further diminished because there are no conflicting precedents. Walgreen, 186 Ill. 2d at 365-66.
I also share the Chief Justice’s concern that the majority fails to address the very issue it uses to justify invoking the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine. 208 Ill. 2d at 167 (McMorrow, C.J., dissenting, joined by Freeman, J.). Instead, the majority employs a harmless error analysis, while purporting to apply a due process analysis. Since T.F. voluntary surrendered his parental rights, this due process issue no longer exists, making it impossible for this court to grant either party effectual relief.
Accordingly, this appeal should be dismissed as moot.