Matter of Esther CC

In Matter of Esther CC. (194 A.D.2d 949 [3d Dept 1993]), the Family Court entered an order of protection against the father of a 10-year-old girl, lasting until the child's 18th birthday. The order was modifiable depending, in part, on whether the father satisfied certain conditions. On appeal, the father argued that the order of protection was "harsh and unfair and, in effect, terminated his parental rights without applying a constitutionally mandated clear and convincing standard of proof." (Id. at 951) The Court upheld the extended order of protection, reasoning that because the order of protection was modifiable, it did not permanently terminate the father's right to contact with his daughter, amounting to merely an "indefinite suspension of visitation rights." (Id.)