IN THE MATTER OF: Buncombe County
No. 99 J 94
CARLTON DONOVAN MONROE,
Minor Child.
Lisa Morrison, for Buncombe County Department of Social
Services, for petitioner-appellee.
Judy N. Rudolph and Mark Dorosin, for Guardian Ad Litem,
for appellee.
Michael E. Casterline, for respondent-appellant.
BIGGS, Judge.
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This appeal arises out of an order terminating the parental
rights of respondent, Charles Monroe, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7B-
1111(a)(8) (1999).
Respondent asserts, for the first time on appeal, that
N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(8) is unconstitutional on its face and as
applied to him, under the Due Process Clause of the United States
Constitution.
It is a well established rule of this Court that we will not
decide a constitutional question which was not raised or considered
in the court below. In Re Maynard, 116 N.C. App. 616, 448 S.E.2d871 (1994) (holding that we may not consider constitutional
questions for the first time on appeal); Kaplan v. Prolife Action
League of Greensboro, 111 N.C. App. 1, 431 S.E.2d 828, disc. review
denied, 335 N.C. 175, 436 S.E.2d 379 (1993), cert. denied, Winfield
v. Kaplan, 512 U.S. 1253, 129 L. Ed. 2d 894 (1994); Rivenbark v.
Southmark Corp. 93 N.C. App. 414, 378 S.E.2d 196 (1989).
Thus, since respondent failed to raise the constitutionality
of the statute before the trial court, he will not be allowed to
raise it here. Moreover, respondent does not offer any other
assignments of error. See Koufman v. Koufman, 330 N.C. 93, 408
S.E.2d 729 (the scope of review on appeal is limited to those
issues present by assignment of error in the record on appeal).
Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.
Dismissed.
Chief Judge EAGLES and Judge MCCULLOUGH concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).