Cite as: 519 U. S. 102 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
justification for its exaction, on the other. See Bearden, 461 U. S., at 666-667.
We now focus on Mayer and the considerations linking
that decision to M. L. B.'s case. Mayer, described supra, at 111-112, applied Griffin to a petty offender, fined a total of $500, who sought to appeal from the trial court's judgment. See Mayer, 404 U. S., at 190. An "impecunious medical student," id., at 197, the defendant in Mayer could not pay for a transcript. We held that the State must afford him a record complete enough to allow fair appellate consideration of his claims. The defendant in Mayer faced no term of confinement, but the conviction, we observed, could affect his professional prospects and, possibly, even bar him from the practice of medicine. Ibid. The State's pocketbook interest in advance payment for a transcript, we concluded, was unimpressive when measured against the stakes for the defendant. Ibid.
Similarly here, the stakes for petitioner M. L. B.—forced dissolution of her parental rights—are large, " 'more substantial than mere loss of money.' " Santosky, 455 U. S., at 756 (quoting Addington v. Texas, 441 U. S. 418, 424 (1979)). In contrast to loss of custody, which does not sever the parent-child bond, parental status termination is "irretrievabl[y] destructi[ve]" of the most fundamental family relationship. Santosky, 455 U. S., at 753. And the risk of error, Mississippi's experience shows, is considerable. See supra, at 109, n. 3.
Consistent with Santosky, Mississippi has, by statute,
adopted a "clear and convincing proof" standard for parental status termination cases. Miss. Code Ann. § 93-15-109 (Supp. 1996). Nevertheless, the Chancellor's termination order in this case simply recites statutory language; it describes no evidence, and otherwise details no reasons for finding M. L. B. "clear[ly] and convincing[ly]" unfit to be a parent. See supra, at 107-108. Only a transcript can reveal to judicial minds other than the Chancellor's the suffi-
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