Concurrence.pdf

Texas Supreme Court Justice Lehrmann, joined by Justices Devine and Busby, concurs that a trial court's judgment terminating parental rights based on an unrevoked affidavit of relinquishment cannot be collaterally attacked due to alleged lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Texas Family Code section 161.211(c). Additionally, Justice Lehrmann notes that a court's lack of "jurisdiction" under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) does not equate to a lack of "subject matter jurisdiction," as the UCCJEA is concerned with where a suit should be litigated, not a court's authority to adjudicate the controversy. The UCCJEA's provisions are inconsistent with classifying jurisdiction under the act as genuine subject matter jurisdiction, which cannot be conferred by consent or waiver. A final order in a custody proceeding rendered by a court other than the court with continuing, exclusive jurisdiction is "voidable," not void, and holding that noncompliance with the UCCJEA's requirements deprives a court of subject matter jurisdiction would render the court's judgment vulnerable to collateral attack, harming children and parents alike.