In re A.S.

2020 IL App (1st) 200560
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 30, 2020
Docket1-20-0560
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2020 IL App (1st) 200560 (In re A.S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re A.S., 2020 IL App (1st) 200560 (Ill. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Digitally signed by Reporter of Decisions Reason: I attest to Illinois Official Reports the accuracy and integrity of this document Appellate Court Date: 2021.12.09 14:45:49 -06'00'

In re A.S., 2020 IL App (1st) 200560

Appellate Court In re A.S., a Minor (The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner- Caption Appellee, v. A.W., Respondent-Appellant).

District & No. First District, Fourth Division No. 1-20-0560

Filed September 30, 2020

Decision Under Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 18-JA-927; the Review Hon. John Huff, Judge, presiding.

Judgment Affirmed.

Counsel on Amy P. Campanelli, Public Defender, of Chicago (Susan A. Isaacson, Appeal Assistant Public Defender, of counsel), for appellant.

Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg and Gina DiVito, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Charles P. Golbert, Public Guardian, of Chicago (Kass A. Plain and Mary Brigid Hayes, of counsel), guardian ad litem. Panel PRESIDING JUSTICE GORDON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Lampkin and Reyes concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 The instant appeal arises from the juvenile court’s adjudication order making 14-year-old 1 minor A.S. a ward of the court due to the abuse of his mother, respondent A.W. Respondent appeals, claiming that the juvenile court erred in finding that A.S. was abused. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

¶2 BACKGROUND ¶3 Minor A.S. was born on June 5, 2005, and was 14 years old at the time of the adjudication hearing. Respondent is A.S.’s mother and is a single mom, and his father is not a party to the instant proceedings. On September 18, 2018, the State filed a petition for adjudication of wardship asking for A.S. to be adjudicated a ward of the court; the State also filed a motion for temporary custody on the same day. In the adjudication petition, the State claimed that A.S. was neglected due to an injurious environment under section 2-3(1)(b) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Juvenile Court Act) (705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(b) (West 2016)) and abused with a substantial risk of physical injury under section 2-3(2)(ii) of the Juvenile Court Act (705 ILCS 405/2-3(2)(ii) (West 2016)). The facts underlying both claims were the same. According to the petition, respondent had one prior indicated report illustrating a substantial risk of physical injury, and lived in an environment injurious to the health and welfare of the minor, and had agreed to allow A.S. to stay with his maternal grandmother in February 2018; at that time, respondent refused intact services for mental health and substance abuse issues. The petition alleged that on September 11, 2018, respondent visited the grandmother’s home and “yelled, hit, and pushed maternal grandmother to the bed,” requiring A.S. to intervene. The petition further alleged that on September 13, 2018, respondent “chased, hit, and knocked maternal grandmother to the ground,” and that, after both the September 11 and September 13 incidents, respondent was hospitalized for psychiatric purposes. The petition alleged that respondent had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had a “long history” of becoming violent with the grandmother; the petition also alleged that respondent admitted to drinking alcohol and “using illegal substances.” Finally, the petition alleged that on September 16, 2018, respondent stated that she wanted A.S. to reside with her. ¶4 On the same day, based on the allegations contained in the petition for adjudication of wardship, the juvenile court found probable cause that A.S. was neglected, abused, and that immediate and urgent necessity existed to support his removal from the home. The court granted temporary custody of A.S. to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) guardianship administrator. ¶5 On February 27, 2020, the parties appeared before the juvenile court for an adjudication hearing. Natalie Richmond, a DCFS investigator, testified that she was assigned the case after a hotline call on September 16, 2018. She spoke with A.S. that day at his grandmother’s home,

1 The minor is currently 15 years old.

-2- and A.S. told her that he had been living with his grandmother and that respondent “comes and goes” from the home. He had previously been living with respondent but told Richmond that “there were too many people coming in and out” of the home. A.S. also informed Richmond that respondent drank 40-ounce bottles of liquor and became inebriated. A.S. informed Richmond that the prior Tuesday, respondent came to the grandmother’s home inebriated and began flailing her arms and arguing with the grandmother, leading to respondent pushing the grandmother onto the bed and requiring A.S. to intervene to break up the altercation; the grandmother called the police as a result of the altercation. When Richmond asked A.S. who he felt safest with, he responded that he felt safest with his grandmother. ¶6 Richmond testified that she also spoke with respondent that day over the telephone, and respondent denied touching the grandmother. Respondent informed Richmond that she was at the grandmother’s home because the grandmother was permitting respondent to stay there. Respondent admitted to drinking alcohol on occasion but denied becoming inebriated; respondent informed Richmond that alcohol was a “coping mechanism” to help respondent deal with her schizophrenia. Respondent also admitted to occasionally smoking marijuana. ¶7 Richmond testified that, after speaking with A.S. and with respondent, she determined that there was a risk to A.S.’s safety and took protective custody of him. Richmond based her decision, in part, on the altercation A.S. said he witnessed and respondent’s admissions as to mental health issues, as well as her drinking and drug use. Richmond testified that, before she could ensure the safety of A.S., she needed to know that respondent’s mental health was stable and that she could achieve sobriety. Richmond testified that while A.S. was in his grandmother’s care, the grandmother did not have legal custody, so there was a risk that respondent could remove A.S. from the grandmother’s care. ¶8 After Richmond’s testimony, the State offered into evidence respondent’s medical records and an emergency order of protection entered against respondent on September 17, 2018, which protected A.S. and his grandmother; all of the exhibits were admitted without objection. As one of respondent’s claims on appeal concerns the admissibility of the medical records, we discuss some of the statements contained within them. On September 7, 2016, respondent was brought to the emergency room of Jackson Park Hospital by the Chicago Police Department “for fighting with her son,” and was noncompliant with her medication. A note from the emergency department stated that respondent was taken to the emergency room “after a report from her mother and son of being violent, threatening, hearing voices and mentioning having a gun.” Respondent admitted to drinking and hearing voices and stated that “her medications make her sleepy and she cannot remember the last time she took them.” ¶9 On July 5, 2017, respondent was brought to the emergency room of Jackson Park Hospital by the Chicago Police Department, accompanied by her mother, for “acting bizarre.” According to her mother, respondent had not been taking her medication and complained of hearing voices. Her mother reported finding respondent naked and kneeling on the ground in front of the couch, and she then attempted to leave the house several times without clothes. Respondent remained hospitalized until July 11.

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In re A.S.
2020 IL App (1st) 200560 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)

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2020 IL App (1st) 200560, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-as-illappct-2020.