From Wednesday's opinion in H.S. v. Dep't of Children & Families, decided by the Florida Court of Appeal (Judge Edward Artau, joined by Chief Judge Mark Klingensmith):
The right of parents to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of their children is older than our constitutional form of government and deeply rooted in our common law traditions. H.S., the father—who is a Christian minister and youth pastor—lawfully opposes, on moral and religious grounds, gender transition before adulthood for his minor child—who is a biological male.
We are asked in this case to determine whether the father reasonably feared that he would not receive a fair hearing on the appropriate placement for his child based on remarks the trial judge made suggesting she had predetermined that the father had no right to oppose gender transition or otherwise direct the child's upbringing based upon his moral and religious beliefs.
The father argues that he has a reasonable fear that he will not receive a fair hearing because the trial judge "has demonstrated a bias against [him] and a disregard for the requirements of the law."
We agree with the father and grant his petition for a writ of prohibition….
