FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2025

Contact: Jeremy Newman, Vice President at Family Freedom Project

Email: Jeremy.Newman@FamilyFreedomProject.org

Phone: 214-707-8445 

TX Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision In Defense of Mother Banned from Contact with her Children “for life”

AUSTIN, TEXAS — In a major win for parental rights and due process, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of a mother who was banned from seeing her children for the rest of her life. 

The decision comes in the case of Stary v. Ethridge, where a Houston trial court had imposed a lifetime contact ban between a mother and her children based solely on an accusation of abuse—not a conviction, and without an investigation or a jury trial. In fact, by issuing the lifetime ban, the court effectively terminated the parental rights of Christine Stary, but without going through the legally required process for termination of parental rights. 

The Texas Supreme Court unanimously reversed, holding that any protective order exceeding two years that bars a parent from contact with their child must meet the high standard of legal scrutiny: clear and convincing evidence—the same standard required to terminate parental rights.

Christine Stary was represented by attorney Holly Draper. Family Freedom Project helped argue the case as an amicus, represented by attorney Chris Branson and former TX Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. 

“This ruling is a victory for every parent in Texas,” said Jeremy Newman, Vice President of the Family Freedom Project. “The Court made clear that fundamental parental rights cannot be stripped away without full due process. That’s a major win for families in Texas.”

Termination of parental rights is often referred to as the “death penalty” of family law. In this case, the trial court issued a lifetime ban without meeting any of the constitutional requirements typically demanded by Texas law—no CPS investigation, no removal order, no trial, and no finding by clear and convincing evidence. The Supreme Court’s decision restores vital protections for parents that were put in jeopardy by the trial court’s original order.

The ruling sets a critical precedent that will shape how Texas courts handle future parental access cases and ensures that no parent is permanently severed from their child without the process guaranteed by law.

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