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IN RE JASON R.--DISSENT

ROBINSON, J., dissenting. I respectfully dissent because I conclude that the trial court improperly shifted the burden of proof on the issue of personal rehabilitation to the respondent mother. Accordingly, I would reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial. As a preliminary matter, I take a moment to emphasize the judicial lens through which I believe we must review the court's decision. ``The termination of parental rights is defined as the complete severance by court order of the legal relationship, with all its rights and responsibilities, between the child and his parent . . . . It is a most serious and sensitive judicial action. . . . Although that ultimate interference by the state in the parent-child relationship may be required under certain circumstances, the natural rights of parents in their children undeniably warrants deference and, absent a powerful countervailing interest, protection.'' (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) In re Juvenile Appeal (Anonymous), 181 Conn. 638, 640, 436 A.2d 290 (1980). Because termination of parental rights is one of the most drastic actions that the state may take against its citizens, we must be scrupulous in our review of a decision terminating a parent's rights. It is well established that ``[i]n order to terminate a parent's parental rights under [General Statutes]

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