As a general rule, only a person “aggrieved” by a judgment has standing to appeal from it. Is a mother without reunification services “aggrieved” by a judgment granting her 18-year-old child’s request for the termination of dependency jurisdiction? The Court of Appeal answers “no” in In re J.C., case no. G048720 (4th Dist. January 21, 2014), and dismisses the appeal. J.C., the child of divorced parents, had been living with her father before being declared a dependent of the court a few months after her 15th birthday, when the court found that her father failed to ensure she attended school or get treatment for a psychiatric condition. After treatment at a…
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The limits to switching gears on behalf of a minor on appeal
A pre-teen in a juvenile proceeding has counsel appointed for her in the trial court (the counsel is also appointed as her guardian ad litem). Her counsel argues at the dispositional hearing that the minor’s repeated hospitalizations are due to mother’s refusal to acknowledge the seriousness of the minor’s diabetes diagnosis or appropriately monitor her treatment, and the trial court removes the minor from her mother’s custody. The mother appeals, and appellate counsel is appointed for the minor. The minor did not appeal, and you would think the minor’s position is pretty well solidified at this point, right? Wrong. Or may, “it all depends.” On the appeal In re Felicity…
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Peremptory Challenge to Judge After Remand Has Its Limits
Virtually every civil litigator knows about the procedure afforded by Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 for disqualification of the judge assigned to the case. Commonly called “papering the judge,” the requirements of the section are so meager that such challenges are also referred to as “peremptory” challenges, though not technically so (to my mind), and my guess is that any civil litigator who has practiced for more than a few years has invoked section 170.6 at least once. Maybe you didn’t know that this disqualification procedure is available even after reversal on appeal. Subdivision (a)(2) of section 170.6 provides A motion under this paragraph may be made following reversal…
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When is an Order not an Order on the Merits?
When it trails the present hearing to another date, for one — at least if it purports to be an order terminating parental rights. Thus, the court of appeal dismisses an appeal from such an order in In re Q.D., case no. G038343 (4th Dist. Sept. 18, 2007). Mother appealed from a purported order terminating her parental rights. Mother, her attorney, and a Vietnamese translator were at the hearing on her behalf. Mother, through her counsel, waived her right to a contested hearing. Only after the court stated its findings and orders from the bench, including an order that parental rights be terminated, did Mother object. She claimed her waiver of a…
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Mother Ordered to In-Patient Drug Rehabilitation has Standing to Appeal, but Her Kids Don’t
The mother of three minor children is determined to be incapable of providing regular care and supervision for them. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300.) The children are placed with their maternal grandmother, with supervised visits from the mother. The juvenile court orders the mother to complete an in-patient drug treatment program as part of the disposition care plan of Austin women’s drug and alcohol treatment, and leaves all prior orders in effect, including the children’s placement and supervised visits from the mother. Do the children have standing to appeal? In In re Neil D., case no. B195487 (2d Dist. August 28, 2007, ordered published Sept. 17, 2007), the Court…